A Revolutionary's Tale
by Iciciro
Summary: Risa would do anything for her people, and that included lying to her sexy new Sensei and his bubbly little team. When Risa is assigned to Team Seven temporarily, her big plans are almost derailed. What's she going to have to endure to make sure her town is avenged? What's she going to have to endure to make sure it's saved?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Rating of T is for language and mild violence? I guess... There will be a smut chapter, but I'm posting it separate so yeah. There's a lot of cursing. I curse a lot. FUCK. See? It's out of control.**

Risa Fugawate

This was it. This was the biggie. Jonin. Say it. Jonin. Risa was bouncing on her heels. God, this old man was taking forever!

"Risa," he drawled. Maybe she would take this if he were the Hokage, but he wasn't so get the show on the road! "We have selected you for a special training opportunity. We are going to place you with a jonin and genin team to further your education until you are fully ready to become a jonin. You will be assessed by your new teacher." He smiled at her like he was doing the girl a favor. She tried not to punch him. She tried not to rip the paper to shreds. She succeeded in only one of these tasks. The paper floated through the streets of Konoha, as she made her way to the training fields. She caught a glimpse of herself in a shop's window and groaned. The jutsu was wearing off faster this time. She looked about a year older than she was supposed to. She stopped in the window and put her hair up experimentally. That took away a little time. She rolled her eyes. The body of a mature adult, stuck inside a teenager. But what was she to do? Revolution did not come easily.

She entered the training grounds and looked around. A team of two was practicing on the south side, but four people were nearer the northwest side. She took the four people, knowing how many genin each team held. A blonde was pacing, annoyance written on his face. A black haired girl was sketching in a book. A pink girl was lifting a tree over her head—sorry, enormous log. Kakashi Hatake leaned in the shade of a tree, reading one of the Make-out Paradise books. Risa had heard they were rather smutty and devoid of any real plot. She would have to read them to get to know her sensei better. She walked up to them and smiled.

"I thought you would be taller," Sai said passingly. Risa narrowed her eyes.

"I thought you were a girl," she retorted. Naruto laughed, clapping Sai on the back, as Risa pulled out her file and thumbed through it. "Sai," she added, finding the page on him.

"He's a little socially stunted," Naruto said, putting a hand on his head. "Don't mind him." It's true—Risa was on the smaller side. She was not built like the other ninja, but she was quick. Sometimes, that made all the difference. She kept her light brown hair jaw-length, styled as to look as innocent as possible. Same with her dress, short but not overly. A calming forest green. Small sleeves and a modest V-neck. However, she knew that is she leaned this way or stood that way, another side of her would show. The dress rode up easily, exposing the black fishnets underneath. The V-neck often shifted in such a way that enticed men. It was all on purpose of course. Men loved the honey in the trap. Of course, sarcastic remarks like that didn't help. She would have to be overly sweet for a while to throw suspicion off. God, espionage was a pain!

"That's okay," she said brightly and smiled wide. Kakashi looked her up and down. She was older than he'd suspected—though it may just be the wear and tear of ninja life.

"Yo," he interjected and waved a hand. "We were about to start a five person lesson with only four people. Good thing you showed up." Risa smiled brightly at him as well and nodded.

"Well, I guess it is. What's the exercise?" Kakashi produced three strips of cloth and smiled.

"Basically," Naruto began. "One of us can't use our hands, one of us our eyes, one our ears, and one can't speak. He refused to tell us which until you got here."

"Naruto," Kakashi said and clapped his hands around the boy's ears. Naruto shook his head, having become deaf.

"Sensei!" He yelled. Sakura's hand shot out and pressed over his mouth so he wouldn't deafen them _all_.

"Naruto, you idiot! That was right in my ear!" She griped. Risa's eyebrows rose. Did she not realize she was talking to a deaf man? Kakashi laughed, understanding Risa's look. He roped Sakura back, tying a gag around her mouth.

"Sakura, stop talking," he said. Naruto cracked a smile. Sai turned around and held his hands behind his back. Kakashi roped them together without a word and turned to Risa, blindfold in hand. The new girl turned and watched the world go dark. _I don't normally do this kind of thing on the first date,_ she would have said. But she was innocent. Kakashi began to move away, and he picked something up. "Get this stick from me, and I'll call it a day."

"Where did he put it?" Rise asked.

"His belt. Left side," Sai answered.

"Sai, come here. You use art, correct? With your hands?" She asked.

"Correct."

"Be my eyes," she ordered and hoisted him up on her back, piggy style. He secured his hands round her neck. "Sakura, Naruto and I are attacking from the front. I want you to get behind him and find the best time to take the stick. I'm counting on you." Risa gave her an encouraging smile, and Sakura blushed. The pink haired girl didn't usually get an integral role in Team 7's plans. It felt nice. She hopped off, and Risa heard the rustle of leaves. She just hoped she wouldn't hear them later when Sakura was supposed to be sneaking. "Naruto!" She said and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned fully to her and tried to read her lips and crude facsimile of sign language. "Go. Att-a-ck. Ka-ka-shi-Sen-sei." He nodded and ran towards Kakashi's chakra.

"That's the plan? It's kind of elementary," Sai scoffed. Risa shook her head and hopped off after Naruto, not too encumbered by Sai's weight. They found Kakashi battling it out easily with a few of Naruto's clones. Sai couldn't tell which clone was the real Naruto. The copy-nin was easily fending off the few clones without even using any chakra.

"Is he using any jutsus?" She asked. Sai replied with a 'no'. "That won't do. Lead me to the closest Naruto."

"Forwards. Two O'clock. Slower. Reach out your hand. More to the left. Down," he directed. The Naruto turned and Risa stuck out her thumb and jerked it upwards, signaling him to turn it up.

"Aye, aye!" Naruto yelled. Soon Kakashi was using jutsus to fight him off. Nothing major, a fireball here—a lightning bolt there. Risa pulled out a kunai and listened to see where he was.

"Sai. Tell me where he is, where he goes, and what he shoots at me," she asked. Sai tightened his grip on her, and she pulled out a kunai, no longer holding his leg.

"Twelve O'clock. Fifteen meters!" He said, and she dashed forward. "Swipe!" She waved the kunai wildly, listening attentively to Sai's instructions. It did mean, however, that Kakashi knew what she was doing without his sharingan. Naruto yelled something and attacked him in earnest. Their sensei leapt into the air and blew a fireball down. The bulk of it was going towards all the Narutos, and Sai yelled at her to stay clear of it.

Instead, she jumped right into the middle of it.

Kakashi's eye widened, and when he landed, he sprinted back to the spot, dust barely clearing. Dammit, not another one. Why would she do that? He had only just entered the dust cloud when a foot caught him off guard in the head. He rolled with it, coming up with a kunai in hand.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei! My chakra reserves were feeling a bit low," she smiled, the dust all suddenly dropping from the air.

"Earth user," he said. She nodded cheerily.

"Guess what you're standing on," she commented. He looked down, and she clapped her hands together. Two slabs of rock enclosed Kakashi, but she felt him slip out of it, into the ground. He had nowhere to hide though because she had some of his chakra. From Risa, you can run, but you can't hide. She couldn't use her favorite jutsus because they were too powerful for someone of her age to know, but she could dumb them down a bit. She did a few hand signs and smacked her hands to the ground, hardening the surface so he couldn't get back. "Sai, I don't need you anymore. I can sense him." The boy slid off her back and ran off. Not; however, before she took a bit of his chakra, allowing her to sense him.

It was Kakashi vs. Risa, and both of them were determined to win. He burst through the ground, having to waste considerable chakra to do so. He shot a lightning bolt at her, and she brought up a wall of earth to block it. He surprised her by vaulting over the wall, almost catching her in the face. He built up chakra for another jutsu—a big one—and Risa flipped backwards, standing her ground. She smirked. He didn't seem to get it yet. He launched seven kunai at her, followed by a volley of senbon, infused with his chakra to cause maximum damage. Typically, the senbon were supposed to slice the opposition up, and the chakra would push into the veins, opening them and pouring the blood out. However, Risa had some of his chakra. She held out her hands and spun, making the senbon like boomerangs. Kakashi's eyebrows shot up, as his own weapons chased him back.

The copy-nin was getting bored, and he decided it was time to end this little game. Risa felt the air about him change, and his chakra became—different. More deadly almost. He levelled his gaze at her, and she glared defiantly back (at least as much as she could with a blindfold). In an instant, he was behind her. He grabbed her by the throat and looped his other arm around her middle, thus pinning her arms. She pushed full force backwards, trying to salvage the situation, but he spun them in midair and trapped her against the dirt. She wriggled a little, realizing as a twenty-six year old that this position was rather indecent, but as the seventeen year old that they saw, what would she know? Risa smirked inwardly and thrashed about under him. He grunted once with the effort of keeping her down for with the strength of a bull, did she flail!

"Can we agree that you're dead?" He asked. His grip loosened when she stilled, and he rose up to his elbows as she rolled over and smirked up at him.

"Can we agree that we've won?" She replied. His hand flew to his side, the stick gone. He too smirked under his mask and got up, brushing his fingers through his hair.

"Looks like you guys got me on that one," he admitted. Sakura held up the stick and smiled triumphantly, Naruto and Sai at her side. He pulled Risa up and untied the strip of fabric around her eyes, prompting the rest to rid themselves of their bonds as well.

"We got you good, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. Risa smiled happily, overjoyed that her 'elementary' plan worked. Somehow, her smiled was stayed somewhat, as she'd felt the raw force with which Kakashi could have snapped her like a twig. She did not enjoy letting him overpower like that, but such things must be if she was simply a seventeen year old. God, what she wouldn't do to have one night as herself, one night as a twenty six year old. Yet the plot depends upon her being able to look innocent, so look innocent she did. She hated it, but she would need to go to Kyo for another treatment. She was looking a bit older. But enough of her plans, her team was making their own.

"Sure, Naruto. Since you guys won, I'll treat you to some ramen. But after the third bowl, you pay for yourself," he said, and they began to walk off. So immersed in her thoughts, she may not have noticed if Kakashi hadn't turn back and motioned for her to follow. She jumped and hurried after them, catching up to her sensei with a blush.

"I'm not very used to the team scene," she admitted, talking to Kakashi as her other teammates were nearly ten meters ahead, and arguing impossibly.

"You did well today, though. In the team, I mean. Usually, it's rare when I can get them all to work together that quickly. I think it's good that you're here to take charge a little," he reassured her. "I'm also sorry for choking you like that. It's only training, but you seemed a formidable foe." Risa giggled and looked away.

"I'm supposed to be a jonin you know. If I can't hold my own against my sensei, I shouldn't think to become one," she said bashfully. Kakashi nodded, lapsing into silence next to her. She seemed comfortable with it enough, but he found something odd about such a cheerful ninja. Sure, Naruto was as bubbly as ever, but technically he was still a genin. Risa had been through ANBU trials; becoming a jonin hardened you as it was meant to. However, she seemed unaffected. It was a small comfort to know that someone could keep a smile through all that. As they ducked into Ichiraku's, she spoke up again, "Of course, I had no intentions of beating the great copy-ninja, but I was confident in my abilities to distract him for long enough."

He shook his head and replied darkly, "That's a bad attitude to carry into battle." That definitely silenced her, as they took their seats, Kakashi on the outside of the group which forced Risa to sit next to Naruto and the copy-nin himself. Of course, she was yelling at him in her head: _Oh, I could have taken you, Kakashi. One day…_

"We already ordered for you. You guys were taking so long," Naruto whined. Risa nodded, not really caring. Ramen was ramen. It was quiet for a moment, and Risa began thinking about her plot again. "So, Risa," Naruto began. "Earth…"

"Real eloquent, idiot," Sakura griped.

"Yes, I was wondering about that myself," Kakashi commented, leaning back to face them. Risa blushed a little and took a sip of her water.

"I'm from a little town on the outskirts of Konoha, and my village has only ever had Earth-leaning ninja. We're a humble sort," she explained and gracefully accepted her steaming bowl of ramen. Let's see, how many lies did that make today? "I can do a little water, but I'm mostly an Earth girl."

"That's cool. I use wind techniques, and Sakura's becoming a nurse, and Sai uses his art. Where's mine?" He asked suddenly.

"You ramen will be out in minute, sir," the waitress said and went back into the kitchen, sneaking a small glance at Kakashi that did not go unnoticed by Risa. So there _was_ a reason for the mask. She twisted her glass, pushing just far enough forward that she could see his reflection. Just as she almost blinked, he pushed down him mask and inhaled his pasta. A split second later, Risa stunned, he was looking perfectly normal. All she could make out were vague features. He had lips. A nose. Pale skin under that mask. Nothing she wouldn't have otherwise guessed, but _could that man eat fast!_

Naruto put his head on the counter and groaned, his stomach sounding along with him. This drew a small giggle out of Risa, and Kakashi noted happily that he hadn't ruined her mood with his earlier comment. They ate and chatted for a while about nothing, and Risa could feel them make a place for her in their team dynamic. It was nice. However, she felt herself grow tired, and she knew she'd dallied too long. She said goodbye to her team, promising to meet them bright and early for a mission the Hokage had assigned them.


	2. Chapter 2

When she ducked out of the small restaurant, it was twilight, quickly fading. She hurried to the forest, finding her spot with practiced ease. A small stream trickled down the landscape, and large, smooth rocks flanked both sides of the bubbling brook. It had been rather dry lately; the water was very low, Risa noted. She climbed up the boulder, and hopped down from the ledge it created into her space. A small cave was carved out of this same boulder, and she'd made a small weaving of branches and grasses to hide the five jars of Heiwa soil. She placed them quickly about her lying-space and lay down in the middle of the circle she'd created. The flow of familiar chakra washed over her, and the boisterous stream faded into the background.

_"__I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever come back,"_ Kyo said in her head.

_"__Ah my old friend. It's nice to see you too. I've had a rather busy month. The jutsu is wearing off quicker," _she told him. She felt her age dropping off by the years.

_"__Well, it's kind of difficult to put a long lasting, masked genjutsu-that's-not-really-a-genjutsu to make you look nine years younger!"_ He hissed. _"__From forty kilometers away!"_

_ "__We've got the dirt,"_ she argued. _"__It should be like we're standing right next to each other."_ She heard a sigh.

_"__Do you want to talk to Mei? She's been worried about you."_ Risa considered for a second. She loved the girl, but sometimes Mei was a bit eccentric. And loud. Very loud.

_"__Sure, but if things get too… Mei-like. Save me?"_ Kyo laughed at her misfortune.

_ "__Risa!" _Said girl flinched, as Mei was yelling in her head. _"__It's been too long! How many more years do you have to stay in that dreadful place? Shouldn't you be a jonin now? Can't you find where they keep it and take it already? It's been a decade since you stayed more than a few days in Hinkon! Your hometown isn't so bad, is it?"_ Risa bristled at the mention of Hinkon.

_"__Hinkon is _not_my hometown,"_ she hissed. Mei was quiet for a second. Risa felt her little friend leave, and Kyo reentered her mind.

_"__It's just out of habit, Risa. She knows that Heiwa is the real name of this town, but it's forbidden to call it that. She forgets sometimes. It's hard back here on the home front too."_ Risa sniffed, her nose twitching.

_"__I'll never forget,"_ she replied quietly.

_"__She wasn't as involved as you, but she's supportive. Every day. And don't forget that you weren't the only one to loose someone that day,"_ he shot. It was her turn to fall silent.

_"__I'm sorry. It's just that living in this place... It reminds me every day," _she said finally and sighed. _"__I'm assigned to a new team. This is the last step to becoming a jonin. I'll get access to it soon. We'll get our victory."_

_"__I think that should do it,"_ Kyo said, and she felt the chakra begin to fade.

_"__You're getting quicker. Do you want to be rid of me so badly?_" She joked.

_"__No!"_ He insisted. _"__I've just been practicing, that's all_."

_"__Well, I'll see you when I need you,"_ Risa said and stood up, rubbing a crick in her back. She replaced the jars into the cave, and upon covering them, went back to her flat for some well-deserved R&R.

.

**Remember to feed your authors! Sorry for the short chapter, but I'll post another one today.**


	3. Chapter 3

When Risa came into view the next morning, even Sai perked up. She looked so much… younger than she had the other day. Her skin was brighter, glowing almost. Her blue eyes shone a little brighter, rivaling Naruto's. Her brown her, curly before, was is perfect ringlets, framing her face with the rest of her hair up in a sparse bun. She looked…

"You look great," Naruto commented. Sakura elbowed him in the stomach. Even her outfit was better. She had a black shirt on, tight fitting, and she threw on a dark blue button up and rolled up the sleeves. Her shorts were tight and black; her right knee was wrapped up in bandages.

"Ahem, well… Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Risa asked, smirking on the inside at her ability to stun.

"Oh him? He's always late. We'll be waiting for a while. I've heard the path of life is pretty tricky," he grumbled. So they waited for a while, and finally, Risa sensed their teacher. She hopped up and grabbed her pack from the rock she'd had it resting on.

"Hm?" Sakura said and hopped up as well. "Do you see him?" It was a few more minutes before he actually wandered into sight. Sakura felt a pang of jealousy. This girl could sense Kakashi from that far away?

"Yo," he said, waving one hand. "I didn't have any socks this morning and had to wait for them to dry." _Liar,_ Risa thought and turned towards the gate.

"So what are we up to today, Kakashi-sensei? We were told to pack a few sets of clothes and our normal overnight gear. Are we going to be gone long?" Sakura asked. Risa nodded, wondering that herself.

"We're going out to see about some rumors in a little town east of here. They've been reporting some kidnappings and some strange lights. They requested a ninja team be sent down, and we were the only ones with a new member to break in," he said and winked at Risa. She blushed and looked down, inwardly cursing.

"Neh, Sensei? That sounds like a haunting. Think we're gunna meet some ghosts?" Naruto asked, almost excitedly.

"Ghosts don't exist," Sai said tonelessly. Risa shivered. Just the thought of it made her skin crawl.

"Well, maybe," Kakashi said. Almost unconsciously, Sakura drifted towards Risa. "We should get going." They travelled a few dozen kilometers to the north and then turned and followed an old road east to the town. It took most of the day, and when they finally got to the little hotel, no one was ready to admit that they were tired. Sai didn't look tired, but he was a little sluggish. Naruto was whining the entire way, but now he insisted that he wasn't the least bit tired. Sakura was being strong because no way was she going to bed before that idiot. Kakashi wasn't too tired. They talked for a while about people Risa had no idea about until she was quite fed up with their antics.

"I'm tired," she declared and marched into her and Sakura's room. The hotel itself was nice. They'd gotten a two-room, one for the girls and one for the guys to crash in. It had a little kitchenette and living room that connected the two. The plush carpet was a soft mocha color, and the bedspread was a deep burgundy. She loved how the red curtains bathed the room in a bloody hue. A set of sheer curtains were closed over the window, casting that light, and Risa went over to close the heavier set of curtains. Sakura followed her not thirty seconds afterwards.

"God, I'm so tired," the pink girl said and collapsed onto her bed. Risa smirked and slowly moved around to get her backpack. Sakura looked up, unsure if Risa was even in the room. It was too silent. Risa instantly realized her mistake and tripped over the leg on a desk.

"Goodnight then, Sakura," she said with a smile. The girl smiled back and let her head fall.

.

In the morning, Risa was the second one up. She made her groggy way into the living room and beheld Kakashi on the couch, reading his trademark Icha-Icha. Risa smirked at the title, knowing Kakashi hadn't seen her yet. She snuck up behind him and snatched it out of his hands.

"What are you reading, Kakashi-sensei? I don't believe I've ever read this before," she said innocently and started flipping through the pages. She instantly blushed and shoved it back into his chest. "Nevermind," she squeaked and turned away. Not even a second passed before he was behind her, chuckling into her ear.

"I could lend it to you," he said saucily, and she whirled around.

"That's okay, Sensei, really. Then what would you read?" She stuttered and ran into the kitchen. "Would you like some coffee?"

He laughed and shook his head, saying, "No thank you." She muttered something about not liking coffee anyways and slipped passed him to wake up Sakura. She shut the door a tad too quickly, and Kakashi smiled. How fun it was to tease the new kid! Risa leaned back against the door and let out a breath. He was handsome. He was cheeky. He was a jonin. Sleeping with him could have some positive black-mailing effects… She stored that thought for later and started to wake Sakura.

"What?!" The pink headed girl screamed, annoyed at the constant shaking.

"Sakura, it's time to wake up. We have to go find out what's haunting the town," Risa said quietly.

"Oh," the pink girl griped. "Why didn't you say that in the first place? Geez." Risa silently inched out of the room, leaving the angry girl to her womanly morning routines. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I probably should have told you that Sakura isn't a morning person," he said. "And you probably should start that coffee."

Soon, they were out and about, looking for breakfast. Naruto, of course, was whining about his stomach. A large woman stood in their merry way and smiled, gesturing to her small restaurant.

"My diner has the best chicken in this entire town," she declared. "You want to eat in my restaurant." Risa was impressed. She looked over at her team to see if anyone had any problems. "Alrighty, then. I'll get you a table."

"Are you sure we should eat here, Kakashi-senpai? It looks rather dirty," Sai commented loudly.

Hearing this, the woman turned back and fumed, "What did you say?"

"I said—" Sai began, but Sakura clapped a hand over his mouth.

"He said that he's sure we should eat her because he likes your birdie," she lied. The owner turned back to her diner and looked at the large painted bird mural that adorned the opposite wall.

"Oh, well thank you," she said. "In that case, we'll sit you right next to it." Everyone let out a sigh, and Risa tapped Sakura's thigh discreetly. The brown haired girl looked at Sakura as if to say 'really, that's the best you could do?' Sakura shrugged in response, 'It was on the fly!' Risa nodded.

"Sai, I think we need to have a talk about negative and positive words and when it's okay to use them," Risa said as they sat down in the wooden booth. She was sitting next to Kakashi, the rest of the team choosing to sit on the other side.

"What would you know? It's obvious you don't have friends in Konoha," he said and took a sip of his water. Sakura's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, that puts us in the same boat, now doesn't it?" Risa replied coolly. Sai looked at her and said nothing. A young waitress came and took their orders.

"So what's on the agenda for today, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Just a little sightseeing, I think," he replied.

"That's it?" Sakura sputtered. "We weren't sent here to soak in the sun!"

"It's information gathering, Sakura," Risa explained, fiddling with her straw. "We've got lots of weapons but nowhere to point them. We've got to ask directions."

"Oh," Sakura said and felt another pang of jealousy. Why didn't she think of that? Their food came rather quickly, and the owner was right. The chicken was superb.

"So… Directions?" Sai asked.

"Yeah, um. Sakura, do you want to go with Risa to check around the shops? The boys and I'll head over to the city's main office to check things out there. Ask about some of the strange lights and the disappearances," Kakashi said, leaving the two girls alone.

"I love how he asks you to do things by telling you," Risa muttered. Sakura laughed. "So where to first?" The two girls looked at each other and smiled.

In unison, they said, "Shopping." They practically went skipping down the street, smiling from ear to ear, arm in arm. They found the nearest store and ducked in.

"Hello and welcome to The Sleeping Princess," a store clerk said and smiled handsomely. His sun bleached hair sat atop tan skin and sparkling green eyes. He was practically an _Adonis_. Risa nudged Sakura who blushed a color close to her namesake. "Can I help you?"

"Nope," Risa giggled. "We're just looking." They started moving around, looking at all the pretty clothes. Risa picked up a few shirts, a few skirts and met Sakura at the back of the store.

"Are you really getting all those? I don't think those qualify as shirts," she said and frowned. The other girl laughed and dumped the mountain of clothing into her arms.

"These are dresses," Risa laughed. The pink haired girl held up one of them. She grimaced.

"I didn't think you were one to wear stuff like this. Really, I thought you were kind of shy," Sakura commented and went into the changing room. She pulled back the sparkly purple curtain and started undressing.

"I get shy around guys I know," Risa answered, cursing herself for slipping up. She sighed and added that little quirk to her repertoire. She drifted over to the lingerie section, contemplating embarrassing Sakura farther.

"I get that, I guess. There used to be a guy on the team…" She trailed off. The blonde shop assistant was staring at Risa, but she didn't look at him.

"Did you hear about those weird lights?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, and those disappearances," Sakura answered, easily catching on to the conversation twist. "It's kind of scary, really."

"Yeah. I wish we'd asked some of the guys to come with us. I don't think I feel safe," Risa practically swooned. She put a protective hand over her throat.

"I'll protect you, Babydoll," the clerk said smoothly. Risa turned and look down to her feet. He was awfully close.

"Really?" She purred. "You are _just_ what I need." Sakura flounced out of the changing room, looking stunning. Suddenly, he wasn't there, as Risa pushed past him to appraise Sakura.

"I don't know," Sakura began.

"You look drop-dead gorgeous! I can't believe you don't accentuate your assets more!" Risa exclaimed. "It's a crime!" The ruby-red dress hugged Sakura's frame, bringing out her curves. Triangle cutouts were at her side, on her chest, and on her hip. Of course, she couldn't wear panties with such a dress, but it would be well worth it! It came down to her just above her knees and stopped, showing off her great legs.

"You really like it?" Sakura asked, her spirits boosted by both the slinky dress and her beautiful comrade's high praise.

"Yes, of course! Now try the other one on and we'll see which one we like better," she grinned. Sakura went back into the dressing room and started in on the next one. The clerk came up behind Risa again.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked. She turned a bit her lip.

"Could you get me one of those?" She asked, pointing to the top shelf. He reached up and retrieved the red lacy thong for her. "Thank you. A girl just can't have too many of these."

"Would you like me to check you out?" He asked, his eyes never leaving her face. She nodded.

"I think you've done your fair share of that," she chirped and put the thong on the counter. He rang it up, and she paid for it. He slipped a card into the bag, an address for a nightclub.

"Well I'm not the only one," he shot back, a sexy smirk playing on his lips. He bagged the red lacey lingerie and leaned on the counter towards her. She copied his stance, their faces mere inches apart.

"Well then," she purred. "Where does that leave us?"

"Hopefully, going somewhere more fun," he growled and reached up to put a finger under her chin. Before he could get to first base, an excited voice called out from the front of the store.

"Are you guys in here?" Naruto yelled loudly. At that same moment, Sakura walked out of the dressing room in a skin tight gold dress that was at the same time all too short and all too low.

"Does this look—Sensei!" She sputtered. All three of them stared open mouthed at her just long enough for Risa to jump away from the clerk and hide her purchase from the team.

"I think that looks better than the last one. Let's just get them both," Risa said quickly, a practiced blush forming on her cheeks. She turned Sakura around and pushed the girl back into the dressing room.

"Why is Sakura dressed like a streetwalker?" Sai asked.

"The term is woman," Risa sniped. She took the golden shimmering dress from the floating hand stuck out between the purple curtains. The clerk silently ran up the two dresses and bagged them too. She stuck her smaller bag inside the larger one, hoping no one would notice.

"Kakashi-sensei, I can explain," Sakura pleaded, hopping out of the dressing room trying to slip on her shoe. Risa moved towards Kakashi, seemingly apologetic.

"Yell at me," she said lowly, and he instantly understood. He levelled his death glare at her and took her arm forcefully.

"What do you think you're doing?" He snarled. "We aren't here to soak in the sun and shop for dresses! Get it together!" The rest of team seven was stunned. Sakura was almost on the verge of crying. Her sensei had never spoken like that to anyone! Risa wrenched her arm out of his grasp and marched off coldly. The rest of the team ran after her, Kakashi taking a slightly less hurried pace, keeping up his angry façade.

When they were all gone, the clerk let out a slow whistle.

"What was that?" Sakura demanded when they finally caught up to Risa. Kakashi glided up and smirked. "And what was that?" The pink haired girl questioned, turning on the copy-nin.

"She told me to," he defended himself with raised hands. Risa nodded.

"It's true. I think that clerk knows more than what he's telling, and I know the perfect way to trip him up," she explained. She smiled brightly at her sensei saying, "And thank you for reacting so quickly."


	4. Chapter 4

The aggressive bass beat her over the head with its pounding masculinity. She flicked her head back and forth, moving her hips in time with the music. The golden dress hugged her curves perfectly, the white stilettos making it difficult to dance like the slut she needed to be. She danced around, looking for the clerk she'd met earlier that day. Strobe lights assaulted her, and she really just want to go home. She looked over and saw Kakashi leaning up against a mirrored pillar. He was watching her like a hawk. He'd taken off his vest, leaving him in his tight dark blue shirt and attached mask. He replaced his ninja headband with a simple slip of cloth. It was all Risa could do not to jump him.

She danced over to him, and he pushed off the wall. They started dancing.

"Do you see him?" She said in his ear.

"Dancing with a girl in a bright green dress near the bar," he answered. She put her arms around his neck and looked at the pillar over his shoulder. The mirror reflected everything in the room with nauseating accuracy, and she saw the clerk practically dance-raping some girl.

"This should be fun," she muttered, and Kakashi laughed breathlessly. She laced her fingers through his hair, bringing him closer. "Remember what I told you," she whispered urgently. "Just look for your own chakra." He nodded, and they broke away from each other. She flowed through the crowd with an unnatural grace, and what was even more impressive were the dance moves she was executing while staying fully inside her dress. Risa swaggered seductively up to the clerk, and he smiled wickedly.

"What happened with your teacher?" He asked, pulling her closer. She laughed and tossed her hair aside.

"That old loser?" She groaned, sneaking a look at a spying Kakashi. "He's just too uptight. I had to sneak out here to see you."

"Oh, I see. Your fruit is forbidden," he smirked and grabbed her ass, to which she rightly gasped. "Not to me," he growled and claimed her mouth. He tasted like liquor and salt, not exactly a sexy combo and yet she rather enjoyed it. He pulled her back into the alley, and Kakashi left out the front door. The copy-nin hopped up onto the roof and dashed to the other side. Naruto waved him over. He scanned the other rooftop for Sai, and he found the boy lurking in the shadow of a billowing vent. He looked down to appraise the scene below and almost made him leapt down that instant. It made his blood boil to see such innocence and adolescence corrupted by this wretched filth. The clerk had her pinned against the wall, his hand somewhere under her dress. He gripped the edge of the roof and growled.

A purple flower bloomed against her neck, and she dropped.

"Dammit, Saburo!" The clerk cursed. A man appeared from further into the alley with a dart gun in hand. "Five more minutes, man. Just turn around and get some coffee. I'll bring her down to the Dungeon." Kakashi almost blew the mission, as he desperately wanted to jump down and throttle the man. Naruto's hand on his arm was all that kept him at bay.

"The boss needs her now, Jiro. The shipment heads out in two hours, and we still have to get her prepped. Grab her and let's go," Saburo said and rolled his eyes when his companion's hands did some definite grabbing. Kakashi's gaze flicked up to Sai, and he nodded. Sai went back around and into the nightclub to find Sakura. Kakashi and Naruto turned to follow Risa and the two men.

Their pursuit lead them to a dusty, run down whorehouse on the outskirts of town. It was too risky to try and pose as clients, so Kakashi found an open second story window and silently hopped in. He'd made Naruto wait outside for backup in case things went pretty wrong. Also, he didn't want Naruto of all people to go into a _whorehouse_. The room was dark. A man was snoring softly on a mattress on the floor. A few blankets were strewn about, and a lamp was leaning haphazardly against a cracked white wall. In the corner, a young girl, naked and shivering, was balled up. Her wide eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she was just about to start again. Kakashi leapt towards her and put a hand over her mouth. Tears sprung to her eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the copy-nin whispered and took his hand away to prove it. She sniffed.

"Can you help me?" Her wrists were rubbed raw, and dried blood stained her inner thighs. _Oh god, _he thought. He grabbed one of the blankets and put it around her.

"I need some questions answered first," he pleaded, and she nodded. "Where do they take you at first?" She closed her eyes tight and pressed her fist over her heart.

"To the Dungeon. It's a little room. You get to it by pulling on the white lever under the bar…" She looked over to the man on the bed and back to Kakashi quickly. "Please don't leave me." Kakashi looked at her and sighed. She would slow him down considerably, but she could show him where to go. He didn't exactly have a floor plan. He stood, and her hand shot out to grab his leg. "They send some away, but the prettiest ones, they keep for themselves. To sell. You can't leave me here."

"I wasn't going to, child," he soothed her. She stood shakily and tried to take a step.

"I can't walk," she sobbed softly. She wrapped the blanket tightly around her body. "It hurts too much."

"Come here," he sighed and swept her up. "Now keep quiet and tell me where to go." She put her arms around his neck and gave him the directions. Kakashi snuck down to the first floor, boisterous laughs and wanton moans greeted his ears. The young girl tightened her grip around his neck when a pitiful scream invaded the hall. He looked at her to make sure she was okay—to make sure she would stay quiet. She nodded, and they continued down the hall. He stopped just shy of the doorway into what seemed like the main room. Men were laughing and drinking. Some had girls on their knees, young and battered things. His vision went red at the thought one of these men making Risa look like that.

"How are you going to get to the bar?" She whimpered. Kakashi looked at the girl and grimaced.

"I'm going to need you to walk. This is not going to be pleasant," he answered. She pressed her lips into a thin line and climbed out of his arms. Her lips went white.

"I'm ready."

"I'm sorry." He grabbed her by the hair and lumbered into the room. She started crying again, and Kakashi threw her against the bar and sat in a barstool with a missing leg. A chorus of laughter followed her, as she tried to hide. She crawled under the little swinging door, and Kakashi followed her, towering over. He snatched her up and pressed her against his body. She tried to ferret out of his grasp, and someone spilled a mug of beer over the counter. She closed her eyes, as he pushed her back down. He stilled on top of her, making sure she was okay. She nodded, tears misting at the edge of her eyes. She reached up and popped open the secret hatch. A trap door silently swung open just next to them. He rolled over to it and dropped down. Kakashi looked back up to see the girl jumping down. He caught her and turned.

He looked at his hand. Blood.

"You're bleeding again," he said. She turned and closed the hatch.

"It's nothing. It won't be long before they realize we're gone," she said quietly. "They'll be through that door." He looked over and beheld a large iron door. It was heavy, locked from the outside with several different locks. He slide open the first three, having to work for the last one. The heavy door swung open and there she was.

"I look like a whore," she griped. Blood stained her beautiful dress, as well as her hands. The rest of the girls, maybe twenty of them, were unclothed and shivering. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. She was fine. Oh, she was fine! "Kakashi-sensei, please get the police. I believe this is a human trafficking ring, and I would hate to see any of these putrescent, bottom feeding low-lives get away, okay dear?" He almost shivered at her cool, commanding tone. He'd never heard her so icy—so calculated.

He turned and went back down the hallway.

"Will you be all right?" He asked the girl. She nodded, and he climbed back up into the bar. In barely seconds, every man was dead. "Please don't be afraid. I'm going to go and get the police. Please go downstairs and my partner will see to you." The girls trembled in fear and in awe. This man… He went outside and told Sai and Naruto everything and to get the police. He turned to Sakura, but she was already in the building. He reentered and began going through the rooms. He burst in to each one, taking the men and trussing them up. He put them in the corner of the bar and took the remaining girls down to Sakura and Risa.

"Kakashi, could you hand me a kunai?" Sakura asked. He pulled one out and gave it to her. He made his way over to Risa who was helping a few girls find blankets for everyone. He pulled her aside and looked her over—really looked at her. She had a split lip and what looked like a forming bruise on her temple. He prodded the sensitive flesh softly, and she winced.

"Are you okay?" He asked, fingers skimming over her jaw to feel for any more bruises or bumps. Her stomach fluttered, and she blushed.

"I'm fine, Sensei. They just don't like it when you put your hand through their chest. I'm fine," she said softly and took his hand away. Police women were coming down into the room now, and Kakashi took Risa and Sakura out of the way.

"I'm sure we aren't needed here," he said hurriedly and took his team back to their hotel. Sakura didn't like the fact that they were leaving, but Risa urged her on. The way Kakashi-sensei looked… Risa knew they needed to go. He sent everyone to bed—literally—and broke out the scotch. He usually didn't drink. Unless he'd killed someone.

"I understand," Risa said, quietly. She walked slowly over to the couch and sat next to him. She was in her pajamas, a pale pink slip. _God is this inappropriate,_ he thought. Kakashi was hunched over, a glass in his hands. He swirled around the amber liquid and sat back.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" He asked. She pursed her lips.

"Yes," she finally answered. "I was ordered to use whatever force necessary to obtain… an item, and… Three ninja." She cleared her throat. "That was the first time."

"Has it gotten easier?" He asked and took a swig. She shook her head, and he chuckled darkly. "It doesn't."

"Is this how you deal with it?" She asked. Kakashi quickly flashed back to the several nights he'd spent with various women trying to forget what he'd done. He was suddenly very hot.

"Yes," he answered curtly. "What do you do?"

"Cry mostly," she said. He didn't like the thought of something making Risa cry. "Sometimes I… Never mind." She started to turn a little pink. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that I understand." She got up and moved back towards her room. For just a moment, Kakashi thought about pulling her back and drowning his sorrows in an entirely different—yet similarly addictive—activity. He shook his head and took another drink, scowling at the sensation as the door clicked softly shut.

.

**A/N What a strange chapter. I didn't really want to portray Kakashi as an alcoholic, but they needed to bond over something! Just remember to tell me what you thought about it because comments are the coal to my writing engine. **


	5. Chapter 5

Risa had been acting strangely all morning. She'd gotten up. They'd had breakfast at the restaurant, but she was strangely quiet. They'd packed up, yet she was strangely quiet.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi finally asked. He'd gotten her alone in her room while Sakura argued with Naruto and Sai about which way was fastest home.

"It's nothing, Sensei. It's just that… The trafficking ring explains the missing girls, but not the strange lights," she said. "It's stupid. They're probably just shooting stars or tripping locals but…"

"What is it?" He asked.

"It doesn't explain everything." She crossed her arms. Kakashi considered it for a moment, and she was right. Probably tripping locals.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said. She hefted her bag over her shoulder and smiled.

"Okay, Sensei," she said. "Whatever you say." She skipped out happily and put her arm around Sai's shoulders. "The best way home is the Xia Road. It runs down to the Iwaki township and from there we can take a carriage back to Konoha. I know I guy who can get us a sweat deal on a six person carriage." And suddenly, they were quiet as each of them tried to think of something better.

"I guess we could do that," Naruto muttered.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that," she mimicked him, and she and Sakura keened with laughter. They filed out of the hotel room, bantering about this and that. Kakashi smiled absently at their antics. It had been a long time since the team really felt like a team. Risa twirled out into the sunlight, truly it was where she was meant to be. Her deep blue eyes sparkled, as she teased Sai about not knowing how to dance.

"I never needed to know how," he griped. She took Naruto's hands and danced around in a circle.

"I bet Naruto can dance!" She squealed. He stuck out his arm, taking hers with him and squatted in a shaky facsimile of a tango pose.

"Of course I can dance!" He bellowed and tossed his head back, dragging Risa around in the dusty road. He threw out his chest and clutched her hands like he would the hilt of a sword! She was laughing like crazy, and Sakura was on the sidelines, practically rolling around in hysteria.

"Kakashi-sensei can dance!" Risa exclaimed and pirouetted over to their teacher.

"I wouldn't call what we did dancing," he said lowly before Sakura and Naruto burst out in laughter anew.

"I believe the technical term is 'grinding'," the pinkette snickered. Risa's mouth dropped, and she whirled on her friend.

"I was doing my shinobi duties," she quipped.

"And having a grand old time!" Sakura shot back. Risa picked up her fists and bounced around on her heels.

"Alright get your fists, and _we're_ gunna do some dancing," she growled, moving her fists around in circles. Sakura stuck out her tongue, and Risa copied her movements.

"Alright, alright, girls stop fighting. You're both pretty," Naruto said. They turned on him; their scowls rivalled Tsunade on her worst day. "Well, not anymore…" They were about to rip out his throat when a bright red flash of light blinded them. It was the middle of the day! A loud _boom_ shook their teeth, and it reminded Risa of New Years. She turned to Kakashi, openmouthed, but he shook his head.

"Don't say it," he started. She'd already begun to say it, and she drew out the first word.

"Iiiiiiieeee… told you so," she said and smiled sweetly. He rolled his eyes.

"Let's go investigate," he grumbled, and Risa skipped happily along behind him.

On their sweltering way up to the mountain, Risa was, as always, eternally astounded by Naruto's boundless energy. He hopped around the rocks, those jagged bleak things, without hesitation and without limits on his liveliness. The landscape was grey and hot and difficult to navigate. All they knew was that they were headed up the serrated mountainside. Risa was starting to sweat something awful under the hot, hot sun. She took off her button up, leaving her in a black camisole. She admitted that it wasn't the smartest shirt she'd ever worn. The blonde boy hopped up the rocks like a mountain goat, smiling goofily. Sakura sighed.

"Naruto, I swear! You're going to fall in if you keep jumping around like tha—"

A hole opened up in the rocks to swallow Sakura. Risa dove forward, barely making it to the pink haired girl in time to snatch her hand. Sharp rocks stuck Risa's arm like needles, and the sweat from the hot day made both of their hands slippery. Her arm screamed with Sakura's weight. She felt herself slide forwards, and Sakura burst out shrieking. Strong arms encircled her waist and pulled them both back up a little. Risa let go of the rocks with her other hand—when did she do that?—and grabbed Sakura's wrist. The process was, at the same time, all too fast and all too slow. But sooner or later, Kakashi had dragged both girls back up to safety.

"Oh my god, Sakura! What did you have for breakfast? Bricks?" Risa growled and started rummaging around in her backpack with her uninjured arm.

"Are you calling me fat?" She asked, angry and scared from her recent near-death experience.

"I'm not calling you a feather!" The chunin shot back. Risa pulled out a white package from her first aid kit and ripped it open with her teeth. She dragged it over the cuts on her arm, hopeful that none of them were too deep. It stung like a bitch! "_God!_" She snarled through clenched teeth, as the alcohol cleaned out the wounds. Her hand clenched, and she shook for several seconds before it finally subsided. She took out a roll of bandages and started wrapping up her arm, wincing at every round.

"Where did that even come from?" Sakura sputtered, looking down the hole. Risa ripped he bandages and stashed the rest, taking a dizzying peek down the cavern.

"I don't know, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it's where we need to go," she answered. "Look, what is that?" Risa pointed down to the door laying at the bottom of the shaft. An ornate thing. She couldn't tell what color it was supposed to be; it was so weathered. The doorknob had rusted over, and a large crack split the door down the middle.

And it wasn't long before Risa was on her way down, a little swing made for her out of the rope she carried. Her hurt arm was lying limp at her side while she held on for dear life. She wasn't scared of heights, per se, just the possibility of the ground touching her intestines. She reached the bottom without incident, and she gave the thumbs up to come on down. She turned, finding the matching door inside of the frame a few feet away. The other door was in much better shape due to not being directly exposed to the weather. The girl could see now that large brass swirls held together blue tinged planks of wood. She ran her fingers over the nearly-blackened brass. It was beautiful and had a certain splendor to it even after it was abandoned. And sure it looked abandoned. As her companions made their way down, she peered into the hallway. Stones and broken statues littered the passage.

"That looks shady," Sai commented. Kakashi repelled down to join his team and scowled at the passage way. It was perfect for ambushes and bloodbaths and stubbed toes.

"One way to find out…" Risa said and stepped in. She hefted up her backpack and turned back, staring down her companions until they each crossed the threshold. "See? No harm done. Now let me get the rope…" She tried to go back in to the little cavern, but something stopped her. An unknown force. She tried again. She threw herself against the invisible barrier, and Kakashi caught her arm.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, voice a bit higher than usual. Their sensei pressed his hands against the barrier, feeling the strange way it prevented him from leaving. Chakra flowed into his hands, and he pushed as hard as he could. Risa's pupils expanded exponentially, the powerful combo of his chakra and his fantastic muscles making her breaths come in shorter bursts. She added her body to his, forcing chakra out her palms. Still, the barrier stopped them.

"We can't leave," Kakashi said, his voice echoing slightly. Risa's hand shot out to grab Sakura's arm when a chill came over her. God, she hated ghosts! The girl started trembling slightly, and she felt the rush of adrenaline—the bad kind.

"Well, we are just going to have to force our way out!" Naruto said triumphantly. He danced back a few steps and bolted for the outside world. They could still see sunshine… He threw a powerful punch into the doorway, and he went exactly nowhere. He punched at the air again but to no avail.

"Didn't you see them trying that?" Sai asked dryly. Naruto whirled and stuck out his tongue. Sakura sighed, and Risa moved closer to her when that sigh multiplied by a million in the deserted hall.

"Come on, let's go. We've got a long trek ahead, and I don't know how long our supplies are going to last in a place like this," Kakashi commanded. He started walking, and the boys quickly fell in step behind him. Risa hurried along, holding on to Sakura for dear life. She tried to be nonchalant, and she only succeeded with one out of five. Naruto was the only one who didn't notice how high she jumped at her own shadow. They walked for a while, the same drab hallway just with a few turns. Until finally, it opened up into a large room. _With food._ A huge table was centered in the room, overflowing with mountains of food. Five places were set.

"Wow! Look at this spread!" Naruto exclaimed. Truly it was quite a banquet. A fat roasted pig sat at the far side, flanked by heaping bowls of mashed potatoes. Huge platters of assorted fruits followed goblets upon goblets of dark red liquid.

"Naruto, wait!" Risa said and took a hold of his arm. "Isn't this a little weird?" He looked at her, coming out of the enchantment the food had over him.

"Oh, come on! We've been walking in circles for hours, and I'm hungry! Just a little…" He whined. Kakashi put his hand on the blonde boy's shoulder.

"She's right, Naruto. This is… interesting," he remarked. A strong desire to gobble down that entire suckling pig overcame Risa. "We should go." He must have felt it too.

"Yeah…" Sakura said, absently staring at the beautiful mounds of mashed potatoes. They turned, only to realize that the door they came in was no longer in existence. A wall stood before them.

"What's going on here?" Naruto asked dumbly, then angrily, "What's going on here?!" Team seven looked back towards the table, entranced by the wonderful food. It smelled delicious. Maybe there wouldn't be any harm in just eating a small bite. Or a few. Kakashi breathed out slowly and marched determinedly across the room. When he realized no one was with him, he turned to see the rest of his team rooted to the spot.

"We need to get out of here!" He said urgently. Risa shook her head and took Sai's hand. She tugged, trying to get him to move. She tore her gaze away from the magnificent feast before them and tried to get the rest of the ninja to move. Finally, they each moved towards the other end of the room, towards the open doorway, towards Kakashi. They were at a snail's crawl, halfway across the room, when a gust of wind (inside of a castle!) blew the heavenly smell into their noses. Risa shrieked, as she felt a presence in the walls. Her desire for the food faded in an instant, fear replacing any hunger she might have felt. She clapped her hands together, a burst of chakra making two stones fly out of the walls and crush the delicious temptations. She was breathing heavily and her hands shook. She _really_ hated ghosts.

"Did you feel it? There was someone—something in the walls," she cried, and she started scratching at her skin.

"We need to go," Kakashi said hurriedly and took her hand. "Now." They ran, top ninja speed, down the next passage way for a few minutes. Kakashi hadn't trusted her legs and was carrying her on his back. They skidded around a corner, and he dumped her against the wall. "Naruto, Sai, secure the rear perimeter," he said smoothly. "Sakura, scout ahead and make sure nothing is up there. If you find anything, you come straight back. Those are orders." They left, leaving Risa shivering on the floor and Kakashi crouching over her.

"It was _right there_, Kakashi-sensei," she whispered and balled her hands against her forehead.

"Calm down. _Get a hold of yourself!_" He hissed. "We need you. You seem to be the least under its influence, so what's wrong? Tell me." He was in full shinobi mode, she recognized. Straight. To the point. She started laughing, realizing now just how stupid she sounded.

"Ghosts. I'm afraid of ghosts," she giggled. Risa put her head between her knees and breathed heavily. "Ghosts aren't real. They aren't!" She'd felt the presence pursue them into the hall, but she ignored it. Ghosts weren't real! Suddenly, the thing bared down on them, and she screamed. Kakashi sighed and knocked her out. He could see now why she wasn't a jonin yet. Sakura rushed back.

"I heard her…"

"Don't worry about it," he said, hoisting Risa up over his shoulder. Naruto and Sai hurried up, and Kakashi shook his head, dispelling their fears. "She was hysterical. She would only be a hindrance. We have got to keep moving." Really, he was getting worried. At this point, their meagre supplies would only last for another day or so, and the passages were getting no less windy and no more with the destinations.


	6. Chapter 6

Risa drifted in and out of blackness for a while before settling on a drab grey. Voices punctured the gloom in quick bursts. Something about stone and ninja. All at once, a scene exploded before her. She shielded her eyes from the brilliant light of the setting sun. The incessant drone a crickets, an uninterrupted hum, rose up from the murky swaths of land. Trees with low hanging branches grew out of brown water. An army of tents were set up, she saw, as Risa turned around to look more. She was drawn to the one in the middle and walked past many a person that did not acknowledge her. The girl walked straight into the tent without needing to brush back the indiscriminately green flaps, as she could simply walk right through them.

"Think of it, Sakuya!" Tamaki Kuto, Prince of the Land of Swamps, exclaimed. "A soaring castle, a hundred feet high, two hundred!" Sakuya looked at her husband.

"Just so long as it isn't these tents anymore. I don't think I can spend another year waiting for the right time to start building this thing," she grumbled. She was a Princess sleeping on a bedroll! Not exactly the most regal of residences.

"Of course, my dear. How long will it take to finish something like this," he asked the architect, gesturing to the blueprints on the table. Risa moved over to look at them, and from what she understood, it was going to be a magnificent castle. The architect sidestepped the Prince, walking right through Risa's body and shrugged, waving his hands erratically as he spoke.

"Well, a project of his magnitude may take a might longer, with respect to your highness, than one might expect. There are many factors to consider and, with respect to your highness, the design is very intricate. However, with this crew, I suspect it will take a minimum of five months. No more than nine," he said. Sakuya frowned. She didn't like the idea of slumming it in these swamps for another nine months. But if that was what it took to get her home, then so be it.

"That seems a bit excessive for the amount I'm paying you," Tamaki said, crossing his arms. "But very well."

"Now, I'd like to discuss security. My company is known for its… imagination when handling matters such as these," the man continued. "We have recently developed a very promising set of seals that, when activated can create an entirely new passage way or staircase or what have you. Of course, they can only be activated using chakra, which is the downside. Each door is marked with the house insignia."

"That sounds perfect," the Prince said, and blonde man ducked into the tent. "Dear, could you see what he needs?" Sakuya nodded, containing the smile that threatened her lips. The two—the Princess and Reiner—walked out of the tent. It was mostly dark, and they went around to the side of the tent where another tent blocked most prying eyes—save for the omnipresent Risa.

"There were a few merchants that came through, and some roving bandits attacked us on the north side but were quickly dispatched," he reported. "The bandits are getting more numerous. I think we should put a few more patrols on the north end." She snorted and pulled him closer.

"You just wanted to see me," she sung. He smirked, still standing at attention. The woman put a hand to her head dramatically. "We can't keep doing this!" She exclaimed, mimicking his low voice. She changed her voice back to her own and said, "But we were meant for each other!" She fell into his arms. He smiled at her antics and kissed her softly.

"This really isn't a good idea," he began, but she kissed him again.

"My guardsman," she whispered, brushing her hand through his chestnut hair.

"Don't over romanticize this, silly woman. I'm just your court jester."

The scene dissolved and was replaced by a familiar one.

Risa watched as a familiar man was lead, under heavy guard, outside of the city. The city was silent, but everyone was out. Everyone was watching, which is what exactly what they wanted. One small girl, Risa knew, was standing at the edge of town on a dusty road next to the ancient town sign that had just gotten a makeover. And this man was paraded right past her, heavy chains making the passing take a lifetime. A woman put her hand on the small girl's shoulder as tears began to fall. The man didn't look at either of them, and he was taken up a hill to a very large and menacing cannon. Soft footfalls were the only thing heard, as the people flooded the small space to witness the events that were unfolding. The man didn't try to struggle, as he was strapped into an apparatus that spread him like an eagle in front of the crude cannon.

"Iwao Fugawate, for crimes including treason and conspiracy, you are sentenced to immediate and public death," a smug nobleman read aloud, enough so that everyone could hear. The small girl's hands clenched. Men in black began to load the cannon, and others placed the bound man in front of it, the monstrous thing prodding his back. Still, he said nothing. A torch sparked into life, and small sobs came from the crowd. Women turned to their husbands. Mothers put hands over eyes. One small girl wiped away her tears because with them in her eyes, she couldn't see. The torch was lowered, and the popping and sizzling of the fuse prompted louder sobs and whispers to sprout.

This was his chance to tell them it was okay.

This was his chance to tell them it was over.

This was his chance to tell them he loved them.

"Long live Heiwa!" He shouted, and a shout burst forth from the crowd. Presently, a big black cannonball ripped its merry way through his chest, silencing him forever and spraying his innards every which way. A little girl turned away from the rampaging crowd, a bone lodge firmly above her right eye. She walked through the empty streets, listening to the crowd get further and further away. When she reached her house, she picked up a blue vase with yellow flowers and threw it against the wall. It shattered into a million pieces—just like him.

Kakashi jolted awake.

**A/N**

**Her father sucks rocks, doesn't he? Well, no fixing it now. She's damaged. She's a damaged child/26 year old.**


	7. Chapter 7

He put a hand to his head and a shiver rolled down his spine. He'd seen a lot of horrible things—done a lot of them—but that wasn't one. Could he have imagined it all? He looked over. Sai was the one on watch which meant he'd been sleeping for about four hours. Kakashi sighed and made to wake everyone up—including Risa. When he started shaking her, she sprung awake. Risa twisted, bringing out a kunai to his throat. He didn't even blink.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered and let the knife fall. She hadn't dreamt of her father in such a long time. She reached up and felt the place above her right eye where his bone lodged into her body. There was the faintest of scars there, and Kakashi watched, scrutinizing that skin. In the faint light, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he found it strange that she touched the same spot the girl from his dreams did. Could he have had her dream?

"We need to go. Can you hold yourself together?" A loud sound echoed through the halls. Sai appeared out of the gloom, looking alarmed—well, as alarmed Sai _can_ look.

"The halls are starting to collapse. We're getting caved in!" Suddenly, everyone was really awake. And running. Kakashi headed up the entourage, sprinting at a break-neck pace. His students had trouble keeping up with him, but the roof was at their heels. Quite abruptly, the passageway ended.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, the deafening roar of the disintegrating hall pounding at their ears. The white haired ninja turned and thrust out his hands, erecting some kind of barrier that glowed with a blue light. Rocks piled up against his shield. Sakura and Naruto cowered against the back wall, and Risa started scratching frantically. Sai stood in the in-between, not knowing what to do. Kakashi began to shake with the exertion of holding up thousands of pounds of rubble. Risa searched the walls for something—anything. Her hands ghosted over a raised shape. She ran her fingers across it again, not quite making out what all the intricate lines were but she knew one thing. It was a house seal! Her mind flashed back to her dream. She channeled her chakra through it, feeling an ancient mechanism click into place. A door grinded open right before her eyes.

"In!" She yelled. Her teammates darted in, but Kakashi was still holding the shield. He glanced back, locking gazes with Risa. She nodded and started to close the door.

"What are you doing?" Naruto screamed. She shook him off, the door closing slower than she'd like. Just as the last few feet began to close, their cocky teacher rolled under. Risa put all her might into shutting the door, and only a few pieces of rubble got in to their passageway. The elusive light that seemed to illuminate all the passageways wasn't present. It was pitch dark. Everyone breathed heavily for a moment. They heard Kakashi hoist himself up, with some effort.

"How did you know to do that?" He whispered, not feeling that it was safe enough to talk normally. She shrugged, and then she realized they couldn't see her.

"I… I saw it in a dream," she stuttered. "I know how it sounds—"

"No. I've had some strange dreams too. It was just pictures, and fuzzy ones at that, but I'd never had a dream like that," Sakura said.

"Pictures of what?" Risa questioned. "Of a woman and a man? Of some tents?"

"No. Of a little girl playing in this castle," she answered. Risa thought for a moment. Were they connected? Did any of this have to do with her father?

"We need to get out of these hallways and into the main part of the castle," Sai said.

"I agree, Sai, but where do we go?" Naruto demanded. Risa put her fingers to her throat and tried to remember that dream. What did that blueprint look like? A left there… A right. Approval washed over her. Yes. She knew where to go.

"This way," she said and started walking. Her hand trailed along the right wall, making sure she was where she needed to be. Everyone followed her, not really having much choice or many options. After what felt like hours of silence, a pinprick of light gave them small hope. They picked up the pace, briskly jogging until they reached a brightly lit foyer.

"Oh, finally!" Naruto sighed. Everyone took in a nice big breath, relieved to be out in the open again.

"We don't need to let our guard down," Kakashi reminded them. Each of his students nodded.

"Should we start with a sweep of all the rooms? I feel like we're supposed to… find something," Risa said. "Or someone." Kakashi considered it for a moment. He didn't know what to think or these strange dreams and feelings, but he knew they weren't going anywhere for a while. He nodded.

"Why don't you take Sai and Sakura, Risa, and go check the West rooms? Naruto and I will check these East rooms," he suggested. Risa felt like that was wrong somehow. She needed to be with Kakashi. She needed to be near him.

"I… No, you're right. That's best," she agreed and walked quickly away from him. The feeling was supposed to go away the further away she was, but each step made her want to turn around that much more. Sakura and Sai marched behind her, following. That's right. She had to lead them. She was older, (older than they realized!) and she needed to be strong for them. Risa took them to a pair of ornate doors on the first floor. Nothing seemed weathered inside the palace. It was simply cold and empty. It seemed like everything had just stopped a century ago.

"Oh, look! This must be the throne room!" Sakura exclaimed. "Everything is so beautiful…" It was true. A balcony hung over their heads, and they turned back to look up at it. A long tapestry hung from the banner, and it depicted a lion fighting a dragon for what looked like the sun. Tapestries were weird. Crimson tassels looked like blood leaking from the defeated dragon (because later down the tapestry, the dragon was defeated). Mahogany chairs made three perfect rows. Risa turned back around to behold the two magnificent thrones that sat regally in the center of the room.

A slightly more elevated throne was gilded in gold. A sapphire velvet cushion rested in the seat. The head of a lion reared onto the top of the chair. Two emeralds served as eyes. Their cold gaze watched over the room—eternally. Adjacent to this strong indicator as masculinity was a slightly shorter seat coated in silver. A deep forest green pillow cushioned the seat. A falcon perched on the back of the throne, a pearl clutched in its beak.

Risa presumed this was the Queen's throne. She felt drawn to it. The girl walked slowly to it, her small steps echoing in the large room. She sat down and rested her head against the back of the chair, the falcon just above her head.

_"__So what you're saying here, court jester, is that the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true," the Queen repeated, smiling broadly at her silly man. He smiled back, his eyes sparkling._

_"__Yes, however, they've broken the chalice from the palace," he continued. She perked up, loving the challenge he presented her._

_"__Really, you two. We have more pressing matters," the King said. His wife shushed him._

_"__Don't be such a spoilsport! The chalice from the palace you say?" _

_"__They have replaced it with a flagon."_

_"__A flagon? Was it brought in a wagon?"_

_"__Aye, my lady. The wagon was drawn by a mighty dragon."_

_"__A dragon-drawn wagon carrying flagons?"_

_"__You understand me perfectly, My Queen," he said and bowed._

_"__Are you quite finished? It would please me if you would excuse yourself, as I must talk to my wife in private," the King griped._

_"__If it would please you so much, why don't _you_leave?" The jester said playfully._

_"__Reiner, you toe the line!" He fumed. The jester put up his hands in defeat._

_"__I digress," he sighed. "For, of course, a jester unemployed is nobody's fool!" The Queen let out a peal of laughter—silver bells ringing in unison. A smile split on her jester's face. Did his Sakuya love to laugh…_

"Risa!" Sakura cried, trying to yank her out of the chair. Sai took one arm and Sakura took hold of the other. Together, they threw Risa onto the unpolished marble floor. She panted, coming out of that dream. "Are you okay?"

"I think I just had a vision!" The brown haired girl gasped.

"We should get you to Kakashi-senpai," Sai said and pulled the stunned girl along. They found Kakashi soon enough, but the trouble did not end there. As soon as Risa entered the room, both of their eye glazed over. Kakashi stopped in the middle of the sentence. The air around them took on a charge.

"What's wrong with them?" Naruto asked. Sakura just shook her head.

"Reiner, we have about ten minutes. He's with the Duke of Jinjira, and if anyone knows how long winded that man can be, it's—" Risa stopped talking, as Kakashi had crossed the room and caught up her lips. The rest of team seven was too stunned to stop it.

"Talking it my profession, Sakuya," Kakashi breathed, his hands taking the small of her back and pressing against her. "The last thing I want to do now is talk." He claimed her lips again, backing her against the wall. They started to make sultry noises that, frankly, Naruto had never heard before and after that experience was sure he never wanted to hear again. As his hand crept up her shirt, Sai still had the presence of mind to pick up the nearest heavy object, which so happened to be a vase of some kind, and smash it over Kakashi's head. The jonin leapt back, having regained his limbs.

"What," Risa stated. Not a question. Simply, "What!"

"I don't know!" Kakashi exclaimed. "I wasn't… I mean! I didn't…" Naruto's face screwed up into a look of disgust—or amusement, Risa could never figure out which.

"You guys kissed," he said.

"We must have been channeling the people from my dream!" Risa said. "Yeah, that sounds good. Channeling!" Sakura nodded.

"That would make sense. Risa seems to have a natural affinity for this thing, or else this thing really wants Risa." Said girl wiped off her lips, secretly caressing them, delighted at the fact that those lips of Kakashi's had found her own.

"This just gets weirder by the second," Naruto grumbled.

"I think I need to be away from you right now, Kakashi-sensei," Risa said. "We don't want a repeat…" Her teacher shook his head.

"From now on we stay together. If anyone gets any visions or starts channeling the ghost of Christmas past, I want to be there, and I want to safe in knowing that I'm in the hands of my _gentle_ students," he said, throwing an irritated glance at Sai. Kakashi rubbed at the back of his head, probing for any forming bumps.

"We should keep moving," Risa suggested. "I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Agreed," Kakashi said and exited the god-forsaken room. They did a sweep of the western most rooms and found—and did—nothing strange, aside from the fact that a perfectly good castle seemed to have been abandoned. Risa snuck a look at Kakashi. He seemed really fazed. It wasn't that she wasn't shaken up a little, but hadn't he ever made out under chakra influence? Geez, wasn't he a jonin? What kind of parties did he attend? Poor man. She shook her head and crossed the foyer to take a look inside the eastern rooms. Something washed over her, and her mind went blank for a moment.

"Kakashi-sensei," she said and motioned for him to come closer. She was in front of what looked like a ballroom. It was magnificent, akin to everything else in the castle. Smooth marble floors ran the expanse of the room. The crown molding consisted of golden waves, and the ceiling was completely made of mirrors. Something was pushing against her mind, but she wasn't yet possessed. She moved further into the room, and the pushing became stronger. Kakashi followed her, not knowing why but knowing that he needed to. She turned back to him and put her hand up. "I think we're supposed to…" He took her hand, putting his other hand at the small of her back.

The rest of the team watched silently, as the two began to waltz back and forth.

"Do you feel anything?" Kakashi asked. She shook her head. As soon as she did; however, the scene changed. Women in fancy dresses, white gloves, and with embroidered fans accompanied men in suits and ties and cummerbunds. Her own dress was a deep green, silver sashes tied around her waist. Her gloves were pearly white. The hand behind her partner's head held on to a white fan. Silk stretched across the creamy white sticks, and a pearl was sown in at the end of each one. Kakashi in turn was wearing a deep purple suit and vest. He'd already discarded his jacket, practically a scandal. The vest had silver stars and planets sewn on. A smiling sliver of moon curled against the right side of his neck. What else would a court jester wear?

"My dear, you look ravishing," he commented. She nodded a thank you.

"You don't look so bad yourself, but is it really too hot in here to wear your jacket? I'm the Queen, and yet you dare to ask for a dance without a jacket?" She joked, smiling widely at her favorite person.

"I'm always hot when you're around," he answered. She gasped and lightly hit the back of his head with her fan.

"Curb your tongue, Reiner! We are in…" She paused and looked around furtively, dropping her voice. "Enemy territory."

"Of course, my Queen. Should we talk about the weather?" He said with a very straight face.

"Actually, Reiner, I wanted to talk to you about something important," she said and looked down for a moment.

"And the weather isn't important? I'm sure your royal front lawn would disagree," he retorted.

"Reiner, I… I don't think I can do this anymore. You see," she began. She looked up at him, smiling with tears of joy in her eyes. "I'm pregnant!" Suddenly, the jester's world spun. Pregnant? His gaze flicked over to the only other man who'd touched his Sakuya. The King was talking with some lords and ladies of the southern region. That bastard was going to have a child, but he looked back at Sakuya. Kids were the only thing she'd ever wanted. He forced a smile onto his face.

"That's amazing, my Queen. I know children have always been a dream of yours," he replied. The song ended, and they stepped apart. "I wish you well." She reached out to him, but he turned and fled.

Risa's hand shook and silent tears rolled down her face.

"She felt so alone," Risa said and put a hand to her un-pregnant stomach. Sakura watched, feeling a pang of sympathy for this Queen. That story hit home with the pink-haired girl; children had always been near and dear to her heart. Kakashi looked at his hands.

"He felt the same way," the jonin replied.

"We should keep looking for a way out," Sai said. Everyone nodded and left the ballroom. Risa lingered for a moment, sadness making her heart ache.

This time, they took the stairs up and searched through the second floor. Close examination revealed little more than cobwebs and dusty chairs, but their little adventure did prompt them to find a hidden staircase in the King's study. They took the winding stairs up, up to the top of a turret. A small room sat atop this turret; a single window let light in from the outside. Real light! A dollhouse sat in the corner. A child's vanity was covered in pink lipsticks, turned to ash, and bright blue eye shadows, turned to rock. It was clearly a little girl's room.

The most compelling evidence for this, however, was the lightly dozing girl laying on the bed in the middle of the room. Her blonde locks splayed out against her white pillow, making her a halo of golden tresses. The sheets were pulled up to her chin; her young face perfectly at peace. In contrast, a skeleton leaned against the back wall, slumped but together. Remnants of sinew and muscle were blackened and taught. The jaw hung by one side. It was dressed regally enough, but no amount of silk could make that corpse a king again.

"Hello, friends," a voice said. "I'm glad you've made it."


	8. Chapter 8

Sai pulled out a kunai, but Risa put her hand over his.

"Who's there?" She called and stepped fully into the room. She was not afraid. This voice was familiar. A man appeared, bowing before them.

"I believe you know me as Reiner, silly man extraordinaire," he said. Risa put out her hand, and it passed right through his body. Reiner stood, his face darkening. "Yes, I know." He disappeared and materialized right next to her. "Believe me, I know."

"I don't know what to ask first," she said, mystified. Kakashi pointed at the girl.

"Let's start with her," he suggested.

"This is Kin, and she is my daughter." Risa was stunned. So the child was actually his? The jester caressed the girl's head lovingly. "That's why everyone is dead."

"Let's skip the pronoun game," Kakashi deadpanned. "I don't like being played with." Reiner frowned, looking at Kakashi. Risa scowled as well, shooting her teacher a deadly glare.

"Tell us, please. Tell us what happened," Risa pleaded.

"There isn't much to tell. The second she was born her blonde hair screamed she was mine. Sakuya brushed it off as all babies have blonde hair when they're born, but as Kin got older it was harder and harder to ignore. I loved to spend time with her, but the King hated to see us together. It was just another reminder that she wasn't his. She always called me her silly man…" He trailed off and his fists clenched. "That day was horrible. As you know, the secret passages are activated by chakra. I'm sorry about the labyrinth by the way, the seals must be degrading. I doubled as her body guard because I'm a ninja too. Sakuya never told the King, but she trained as a ninja for the first five years of her adult life. He… accused her of cheating that day when Kin turned twelve. She just looked too much like me, I guess. He charged at me with a sword, and she just exploded. The whole castle suddenly stopped.

The thing about Sakuya is that she apparently had a rare kekkei genkai dealing with time distortion. She put a shroud around Kin, and everything else stopped. Her body was instantly obliterated with the force of the jutsu, but the rest of them… the rest of us were trapped in her time vortex. To put things in perspective, it took the King the rest of his life to crawl up here. Something happened with me. I became… this. My body wasted away, but I remain. I guess someone had to stay to look after her." Risa looked back and forth between father and daughter.

"Why me?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Your mind was the most open, and his was the next most so. Besides, I didn't think you'd mind. I mean I _have_ seen your dreams," he began, but Risa sputtered out a quick 'shut it!'. The jester laughed. "I just want you to help her. You'll need to wake her up, and you'll ever guess how you need to do it."

"I'm thinking multiple slaps," Risa commented. Reiner chuckled.

"You've got to kiss her. My Sakuya always had a little bit of flair," he said. The boys of team seven looked at each other.

"So do you want to-?" Naruto asked, putting a hand behind his head.

"I don't feel comfortable—" Sai began.

"I've kissed my fair share today," Kakashi said. Risa rolled her eyes and marched up to the girl. She bent down and captured her lips in a swooping kiss. Everyone's eyebrows shot up. To Kakashi, it seemed like her lips lingered a bit too long, but Kin's eyes flew open as soon as Risa's lips left hers.

"My god, was I just kissed?" She stuttered.

"I—I didn't really mean it. All you had to do was touch her, but I guess that works too," Reiner said.

"I apologize, Kin. My name is Risa. This is my team, and your jester is a jerk." Risa crossed her arms. "I mean, that's the second person today he's had me plant one on!"

"I entirely agree, Risa, although I can't say I'm disappointed. He chose well. However, it stands to reason that you should be punished, Silly Man. I decree, as her Royal Highness of the Congressional Congress of Naps and Dessert Before Dinner," she began and took a breath. "That you are fired. End of story." He bowed, tears of joy shining in his eyes.

"Of course, your highness," he said lowly. She hopped out of the bed and looked down at herself.

"Oh these are new," she exclaimed and hopped up and down, her rather voluptuous breasts bouncing. "Did I age in my sleep? It rather seems I did. I'm what? Twenty now? I've got so much to catch up on. Come, Risa! We must have sex, do drugs, and wear revealing clothing." She glanced over to the guys and Sakura, frowning at her choices. "Let me rephrase! We must have sex with each other, do drugs, and wear revealing clothing!" Risa gave a hearty laugh, likening to the girl immediately.

"Yes, I believe so! Could you please excuse us for a while? A _long_ while?" Risa laughed. Kin took the girl's hand and looked back at her jester.

"You are officially re-hired. Now clear out these ruffians. I have a woman to woo," Kin insisted. Her gaze swiveled around the room at all the smiling people until it fell on the skeleton. "Take him too," she said, her voice catching.

"You heard."

"I knew," she snapped. "I always knew he wasn't my father." Reiner stared at her.

"You did?" He asked.

"I'm not blind. You silly, silly man. You were always on the dumb side weren't you?" She sighed. "Really, all my smarts must have come from my mother." The jester tried to pet her cheek, but his hand ghosted through her. "So what happens now?"

"I can't leave the castle. You have to. We are at an impasse," he said.

"So what happens to you? You've lived all this time…" Risa said.

"I guess I keep on keeping on," he assumed. "Although, with you gone, Kin, I might just… fade. Honestly, it won't be unwelcome. I've been here for so long, I think it's fit for me to die here."

"I think I don't want you to die," Kin said quietly. Even Sai felt something then.

"Too bad," he said back and kissed her forehead as well as he could. "It's time for you to go." He stepped back into the wall, back towards the window. Yellow sunlight streamed into the room, and Naruto leapt towards the window. He pushed it open and hopped out into the bottom of a little canyon. The side were steep, but it was nothing for team seven and Kin.

"I think I have the perfect place for you," Risa said and pulled Kin up onto the level ground.


	9. Chapter 9

It took a little time for the Hokage to become convinced, but Kin trusted Risa. The sleeping beauty actually spent almost a month in Konoha before heading off the Heiwa. In the meantime, Kakashi decided that training was overrated and didn't even show up.

"I think if we wait for three hours, we should be allowed to leave," Sakura said, utterly bored. She was laying in the grass, tanning. Or at least, trying to tan. She was quite pale.

"Sai, didn't you say you didn't know how to dance?" Risa asked after a while. He looked up from a drawing he was doing and shook his head. "Well, that just can't be. Up. You're learning. Kin! Give me an acceptable beat!"

"Duh dum duh dum dum," she started to sing.

Sakura chimed in with a, "Dum dum. Dum dum." Risa took Sai's hand and got in waltzing formation.

"The waltz is supposed to be in a box formation. It's literally the easiest dance to learn," Risa explained. "We start with our left and right feet together. Now, step forwards with your left foot. Now diagonally with your right. Together. Back with your right. Diagonal with your left. Together. Yeah, you're getting it. One, two, three. One, two, three." Sai was actually pretty good.

"This isn't too hard," Sai commented, getting the hang of it.

"Naruto, why don't you take Sakura for a spin?" Risa said, smiling widely at the pink kinoichi. The girl rolled her eyes but got up to dance anyways.

"Alright! Sakura's going to dance with me!" Naruto exclaimed and jumped up. Naruto was a little bit less of a natural, but Sakura quietly instructed him on the moves. She was a patient teacher for all her outward aberration for the blonde boy. Kin watched happily, waiting for her chance to jump in and sweep Risa off her feet.

"Well, look what we have here! I was coming to find some ninja, but I guess I walked in on… a dance party?" Kakashi said, watching with amusement from a nearby tree.

"We've been waiting on you for hours, Sensei," Risa said stiffly. "Are you just jealous because Sai's a natural?" Their teacher let out a hearty laugh and dropped from the tree.

"We've been over this before," he said. "I can dance."

"I don't believe you," she challenged him. "We don't know if that was the possession of you." Kakashi walked over to where she and their artist were dancing and bowed lowly.

"May I have this dance?" He asked, extending an arm. Risa look back to her partner.

"You wouldn't mind if I abandoned you to Kin, would you?" She queried. Kin hopped off the log she was sitting on and pranced over.

"He'd be delighted, I'm sure," she trilled. Before they knew it, Sai had whipped up a nice little violin player, and Risa was whisked away by the prowess of the copy-nin.

"You're blushing," he crooned and twirled her around again.

"It's a hot day," she defended herself and looked away from his smirking face. He dipped her low, just as she started to look at him again, forcing her to loop her arms around his neck.

"True," he said and whipped her back up. "That must be it."

.

Kin threw up the bright red ball, waited until it almost smacked her in the face, and caught it again. She, Risa, and Sakura were sitting under a tree near the training fields. There were no practices until later—they just felt like hanging for a bit.

"Have you been with many people?" Sakura asked. "Like long term?" Risa started to count it up in her head. There was that one… And that one… That one didn't really count. Neither did that. That probably counted… Once she was done, she was duly surprised. She'd actually dated loads of people. Most of them she regretted, but that was beside the point.

"Oh, enough…" She hedged. Kin rolled over onto her stomach, propping her face up in her hands.

"How can you tell if he's a good match? I've had some rotten luck with choosing guys," Sakura said.

"I've never had any experience with men," Kin said distastefully. Risa rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, we _all_ know that," the kinoichi griped. Sakura blushed pink at the implication. Really, who were these people? Everything was flipping upside down since she met Risa—her whole world view. Risa took her outlook on life and threw it off a cliff. She was strong and beautiful and commanding. Even Kakashi-sensei listen to what she had to say. She wanted to be like her. Risa continued talking, this time directed at Sakura. "You've got to find a guy that makes you feel comfortable. In the beginning he'll make you feel a fluttery but that's normal. That will settle after a while, not completely however, and he'll make you feel… nice. Just nice."

"That special someone shouldn't be your _every_ waking thought, but they should be about neck-and-neck with food. They should make you smile, even when you're trying to keep it cool," Kin piped up.

"But you can't confuse friendship with liking. If you're kind of desperate, then you'll jump the first guy who smiles at you," Risa warned. "And then he'll turn out to be really annoying."

"And don't go immediately," Kin advised. "Become their friend first. If you get to know them, you get an inside look at how they're going to be in a relationship. Mutual likes and dislikes. Small quirks and things that make them smile." Sakura nodded.

"What makes Kakashi-sensei smile, Risa?" She asked slyly. The student-teacher turn red, the blush reaching to the tops of her ears.

"I'm not chasing Kakashi-sensei," she deadpanned. Kin giggled, smacking Risa's knee.

"Yeah, but casually catching him wouldn't hurt, would it?" The sleeping beauty smiled.

"I have nothing to say on the matter." Risa tossed up her head and crossed her arms.

.

"Kaka—hic-shi, there isn't anything—hic—that I can—hic—do!" She exclaimed, the hiccups puncturing her sentence in short, hilarious bursts. Her teacher was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"What was that, Risa? I can't say I understood you," he sniggered. She glared at him and hit his shoulder, her own jumping with another convulsion. They were the only ones left at the ramen stand save one waitress waiting for them to leave. As it turned out, she was a very slow eater, and Kin was tired. The rest of the team had gone home, the girls throwing her some serious side-eye for staying with her sensei.

"Hic—Help me!" She pleaded. Kakashi paid for them, gesturing a 'thank you' to the waitress who nodded back. She was about to tell him that he didn't need to pay for her, but another round of hiccups silenced her. This was probably the worst bout in her history.

"Maybe you just need some fresh air." He took her, putting a hand on the small of her back, out into the nearly deserted street. It was just turning dusk, orange clouds straddling the sky in a fantastic array of colors.

"I—hic—need a fright!" She insisted. She kept walking, hiccupping relentlessly. "My mother used to always—hic—scare me." She started to turn, and he caught her chin. Familiar lips caressed hers, just for a second, then they were gone.

"Did that work?" He asked, still holding her chin. Risa, clearly flustered, gazed back into his black eye. A moment passed, and a small smirk graced her face.

"Apparently," she hedged. "But, you know, I don't like it that you keep kissing me without permission, you know." He shrugged, pulling up his mask.

"All for a good cause. In my defense, that was the first one that was voluntary on my part," he defended. They paused at a crossroads, Kakashi's flat in the opposite direction of Risa's.

"Well, this will be the first one on mine," she said and pecked him on the cheek. "I'll see you in a few days. Maybe a few weeks!" She called, as she hurried to get home before dark. The copy nin smirked, a gentle finger ghosting over where her kiss had landed.

He turned, pulled out his book, and shoved a hand in his pocket.


	10. Chapter 10

"RISA!" A splitting voice pierced the foggy morning air. They only _just_ legally entered the town, having passed the old wooden sign that said 'Welcome to Heiwa' except they painted over 'Heiwa' and put 'Hikon'. The paint they found was slightly off color to cover up the rightful name of the town, so it was a constant reminder.

"Dear god in heaven," the girl muttered. "I apologize, Kin. I have neglected to tell you that the people of this town are unmistakably, undoubtedly, unquestionably—" A black ball flew out of the fog and tackled the talking Risa. "Insane!"

"Who's insane but you, dear Risa? Oh, Risa! We've got so much to tell you! You haven't been home in such a long time, so when Kyo told me he felt you coming, I was just thrilled!" Risa put a hand over the girl's mouth before she could scare off their sleeping beauty.

"Shut up, you crazy little firecracker! This is _Kin_," Risa said, motioning towards the smiling blonde. "And she is going to live here now, so go tell everyone to expect some company, Mei."

"Oh, company! Did you hear that, Kyo? We're having company!" She screeched back into the trees. A smiling peach-haired boy ducked out from behind a black tree and waved.

"Hi, Risa," he said, bracing for whatever she had in store.

"You did this!" She exclaimed coldly. "You sicced her on me, and don't try to deny it! She told me it was you!" Kin watched, fascinated by their family dynamic. Of course, relation by blood was out of the question. Risa was a sandy-haired goddess with clear blue eyes and lightly tanned skin. Mei was a black-haired beauty with a streak of red in her tresses, though that was obviously not genetic, and she had pale skin with freckles over the bridge of her nose. She had entrancing dark green eyes. Kyo had peach hair, light green eyes, and was quite tanned. As such, they acted as though they'd sprouted from the same womb. Childhood friends? It must have been. However, she seemed so much younger than both of them. They seemed more around Kakashi's age, but she was closer to Kin's own.

"What was I supposed to do? She's been asking about you morning, noon, and night! Maybe if you would call more…"

"Call more! I've been on a mission! And it hasn't been a week since I called last! You just aren't patient enough," Risa exclaimed.

"Patient! Oh, here we go again. Maybe you should do your own masking jutsus!" He snapped.

"Maybe you should be more courteous towards our guests!" She snapped back. Kin started laughed, and she doubled over. Tears almost sprung to her eyes from the sheer hilarity of it all.

"Oh, you two are like an old married couple!" She chuckled. She didn't understand much that was said, but it was really cute.

Kyo turned a delightfully revealing red and stuttered out, "We're not, alright!"

"Okay, come on. I'll show you to where you'll be staying," Risa sighed and started walking towards the village. Kin watched as they passed through, Risa warmly greeting everyone and everyone being so pleased that she was home. The blonde rather thought she would like it there.

"Well, I'll be damned! Is that my daughter?" A voice like a crow called. Kin watched the biggest smile yet appear on Risa's face. The brown-haired girl hopped over a low fence and dashed onto the rickety porch of what Kin assumed was her home.

"Mother, I'm so glad you're here! I want to introduce you to someone," she said and beckoned Kin forward. The girl found the gate and made her way up the ramp to the porch. Risa's mother probably once looked pretty, but her hair hung limp around her face, obviously unbrushed. Her skin was a sickly pale, and her eyes were sunken into her face. Risa threw herself into her mother's lap, causing the wheelchair to careen backwards and thump against the railing.

"One day, you're going to kill me!" Her mother griped. "Nice to meet you, Kin. You can call me Asami, or you could call me Mom. Everyone around here does." She struggled for a moment to wheel herself back to her place. Risa sighed and got up to help.

"Okay, A-Asami. I'm looking forward to living with you," she said and bowed. Risa's mother ducked her head in response.

"Neh, Momma? Do you still cook too much for just you? Would you maybe have some leftovers?" Risa hummed. Her mother choked out a throaty laugh and wheeled herself into the house, Risa following greedily. "Come on, Kin! Momma's pancakes are the best in town. You did make pancakes right? Why wouldn't you make pancakes?" She went on babbling into the house, and Asami answered that no, in fact, she didn't make pancakes because unlike Risa, not everyone had the inhuman ability to eat pancakes morning, noon, and night. Kin navigated the house back to where she heard the rambling voices.

"Well, Risa, if you want pancakes, I'll make you some," Asami said, exasperated. The brown haired girl's foot twitched against the black and white tile. She looked down.

"If that's what you really want…" She hedged. The chair-bound woman rolled her eyes.

"Yep, I've missed you," her mother sighed and rolled over to the sink to open a cabinet. She pulled out a large round pan and waved her hand at the two girls. "Out! Out! I don't need you to clog up my kitchen while I'm trying to cook!" Risa laughed and pulled Kin into the living room.

"She's making us pancakes!" Risa sang and danced around. "It's been so long since I've really had…" She wanted to say 'a home', but that didn't sound right. She fished around for the right ones, running through 'peace' and 'a sense of belonging' and 'a day off'. All of those were correct, but none of them felt like the right one.

"Pancakes?" Kin supplied. Risa smiled and nodded. 'Family' popped into her head. Yes, that was the right one. Pretending can get so lonely. Her heart ached at the thought of going back to that place. Konoha. Even though she hated it so much, the team was making it bearable. Mostly that infuriatingly handsome man. _Oh and Kakashi's not bad looking either_, her mind added wittily. She chuckled at her own joke, Kin absorbed in watching Risa think. Really, it was fascinating. Kakashi was… an asset. Easily seducible but not too easily disposed of. Information guarding wouldn't be anything new to him, so subversion was key. Espionage. Lying. Stealing. It was all for her town… She would do anything for her people.

"I'm sorry what?" Risa said, shaking her head.

"I said someone's knocking at the door," Kin repeated. "Should I answer it?"

"Oh no, I've got it," she said hurriedly and hopped up to get the door. Just as another knock landed on the wood, she wrenched it open.

"Hi!" A woman exclaimed, a small boy at her hip.

"Yuzu! It's so nice to see you!" Risa exclaimed and beckoned for the girl to come inside. "Yuzu, this is Kin. Kin this is Yuzu, and is that Hiro I see in your arms?" Risa made a cradle, and her friend gently settled the little guy into her grasp. "Hey, buddy," she crooned, bouncing up and down instinctively. "When did you get all borned, huh?"

"He's only two months old," Yuzu smiled. The little Hiro sputtered out a thick stream of spit and stuck his fat fist in his mouth before drawing a tiny baby breath. He looked, mesmerized at the brown button shining on her shirt. He lunged for it, the top half disappearing into his slick lips. He teethed on it for a moment before releasing it and laughing the same laugh that every baby laughed, and yet it would never get old.

"I think he's the cutest thing I've ever seen," Kin muttered, staring longingly at Hiro. "Can I have one?" Risa smiled widely at him.

"Alright, alright," a voice called from the open door. Not one of the girls turned, for it was only Kyo. "I think I'm going to have to step in before babies start popping up everywhere."

"You're just jealous," Risa shot back, speaking in her best baby voice. "Yes, he is! Yes, he is!" She touched Hiro's nose with her own, and the baby took a hold of her hair. It wasn't long enough to reach his mouth, so it was no longer interesting.

"I just heard there was a party," Mei chirped and appeared in the door, pushing Kyo inside. She sniffed the air. "Pancakes," she stated. "Oh, you just try to move me." Her tone was borderline threatening, and Risa laughed.

"I told you they were good," She said to Kin.

**A/N**

**I just... I give up. There's no way to get you people to actually take five seconds and say what you did/didn't like. Just comment and favorite or you know... something. I give up. :P**


	11. Chapter 11

Risa had made her rounds, saying hello to everyone in the village. The small talk was what took up most of the day, and it was almost twilight when their garrison—Risa, Kin, Kyo, and Mei—returned to Risa's house. The foggy morning had lifted to a muggy day, and the many clouds kept the afternoon cool and the evening cooler. In the drafty house, it was best to keep a fire going. It was really all the light they needed too, so they sat in the living room, awash in orange flickering glow. Risa sat in a rickety old dining chair—the only one to have survived since the local woodworker made the new ones. She sat to the side of the fireplace, the homey warmth washing over her shoulder and hip. Kin fought valiantly for her rightful place on the loveseat next to Mei, and they were both opposite of Risa. It was a hideous flower-print, but it matched the curtains. That left Kyo to fend for himself, and he took a seat on the floor, leaning his head against Risa's knee.

"So how long are you here for this time?" Mei asked quietly. The chunin looked down.

"How long have you been waiting to ask me that?" She said in return but ended up shaking her head. "The Hokage gave me however long I needed within a time period not to extend a month to settle her in," she said, nodding her head towards Kin. Mei let out a grateful sigh.

"That's a relief," Kyo commented. "Probably the only good thing those Hokages have ever done for us." He laid his head back on the chair and looked up at the cracked ceiling. "Except maybe die." Kin's jaw dropped.

"Aren't you all a part of the Fire Country? And Risa, aren't you a Leaf ninja? Why does it sound like you hate it so much?" She asked, bewildered at their conversation. Everyone became very sober, and each one of them looked away from the fire, effectively darkening their faces.

"I'd hoped you wouldn't notice until you'd settled in, but these _idiots_ just can't keep their mouths shut," Risa griped. She nudged Kyo with her foot, annoyed at his constant blabbering. "This is really the best place on Earth. The people here are the kindest you'll ever meet, and that's why we've been beaten and killed and oppressed over and over and over."

"And over and over and over!" Mei chirped. Kin looked back and forth between all of them. They seemed so different from their normal bubbly selves. Well, one could hardly call Risa bubbly, but she was entirely different from the tortured soul in front of the fire just then.

"Our land is very valuable. The soil conducts chakra like you wouldn't believe, and someone had the idea to make pills out of it. Our soil is a key component in every edible chakra enhancer in the world. Different clans can have different recipes, but Heiwa dirt is the first on the list. It's no wonder every country wants us. The Leaf colonized about fifty years ago, but we drove them out with force. They came back in larger numbers, but this time they didn't try to integrate their people. They simply took our leaders, slaughtered them, and put a local lordling in rule. He loved money. He hated insubordination. We didn't get along," she told Kin. Then she stopped. Kyo glanced up at her face, and he knew she really couldn't talk about it.

"It was about fifteen years ago," he began, and Risa put her head in her hands. "Risa's father formed somewhat of an underground resistance and launched an attack against the lord's soldiers. The main resistance was my parents, Risa's, and Mei's. The resistance was crushed. Mei's parents weren't fighters, and their involvement was never discovered. My mother was killed in battle, and my father fled. Risa's mother had her knees broken in punishment, and she was forced to kneel in her brother's blood whom they had killed a few hours earlier. Infection set in, and she hasn't been able to walk since. Her father was captured and executed… via cannon ball through the chest." Kin's hand flew up to her mouth.

"But what can we hope to do?" Mei said listlessly. Her hands balled into fists. "Well, we're going to revive the resistance. We already have. We've already infiltrated Konoha's ranks. Once Risa's a jonin, she'll have access to the information about the special weapons."

"You want to steal a weapon from Konoha and use it to get back at the lord?" Kin said. Her eyes went wide, as she comprehended the situation. She started to feel it, the mass of chakra moving between them. "Just being here does something to you people, doesn't it?"

"It's easier to share chakra and to share jutsus. Each one of us has a specialty. I can take chakra, Mei can divert chakra, Kyo can… but don't you see? This is why we're such a close village! This is why…" Risa pleaded.

"No!" Kin almost yelled. "This isn't the way! Violence can never solve anything; look what happened with my mother!"

"Violence is the _only_ answer! Do you think these bloodthirsty animals are going to stop beating us because we wrote a strongly worded letter?" Risa exclaimed, dispirited that her friend didn't understand yet defensive.

"You have to go to the Hokage! I'm sure she'd understand!" Kin said back.

"Where do you think the orders came from?!" Risa screamed. That sure shut the princess up. "The order for the purge came straight from the Hokage. That fucking lordling paraded the order around for a week afterwards, so don't tell me I should go to the Hokage! She'd be just like the rest of them."

A scream right outside the house effectively ended their argument.

"No! Please! I have my child!" They heard Yuzu scream.

"Then he's going to have to leave while we have some fun," a gruff voice responded.

"Get away from me!" She yelled and slapped him. The four ran out of the house just in time to see the baton fly. In a flash, Risa stood over the cowering girl. The black baton struck at her back, and she dropped to one knee from the force of the blow.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The guardsman grunted. Risa looked at Yuzu.

"Run," she said and stood back up. _Is she going to kick his ass?_ Kin thought. The guard struck her again, this time just below her ribcage on the right. He did the same to the left. Yuzu dashed away, clutching Hiro close to her chest. The guard continued to beat at Risa, but she never lifted a finger and never said a word. Her shoulder began to bleed, and the thin skin covering her jaw was all but scraped off on the left side. Kin watched, horrified as he still beat her. She dropped to one knee again, then to hands and knees, and finally lying flat on her stomach. Eventually the guard's arm tired of hitting her, and he walked away. Plenty of people witnessed the brutality, but he walked away. _Unchallenged_. Kin's fists clenched at the pure rage she felt. A hand at her shoulder was all that was stopping her from going after him.

"I understand now," she said. Kyo rushed to Risa's side, as she tried to get up. Kin held the door open. Mei rushed to get Asami. They took Risa and laid her out on the kitchen table, the only elevated surface long enough for her. Her mother wheeled in, wet rags in her hands.

"What have I told you about getting in to it with guards?" She scolded her daughter. Despite her angered tone, her touches were feather-light. She set about healing the wounds, mostly bruises. "Some of your ribs are shattered! You're lucky neither of your lungs were punctured! Kyo, I'm going to need some of your chakra. These are going to take enough time as it is, and we need to get her out of here by morning. The guards will come looking for her."

"She didn't pick a fight, Asami," Mei insisted. "Yuzu was getting attacked, and she had Hiro with her!" Asami's lips pressed in to a thin line.

"Well, you could have blocked a little better," she griped.

"W-Why didn't you?" Kin asked, a tremble in her voice and tears in her eyes.

"Fight guards…" Risa wheezed. "Nother… purge. Ack!" Her mother began applying some kind of ointment, and it tripled the pain.

"Get used to it," Asami seethed. "I call it Salve of a Thousand Needles. If it stings, you know it's working."

"We've tried fighting, but one or two guards just bring more," Kyo explained tiredly. "You see why we have to take them all at once?" Kin slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah, I do," she admitted.

They spent all night healing up Risa. It took all of Kyo and Asami's chakra to make her good as new and half of Mei's to boot. There was some internal bleeding that took a while, and there were a few bruises they didn't get to on her arms and legs. Through the night, Kyo began briefing her on what they'd found out.

"We have special information on Zeus's Spear," he told her. "As it turns out, Kakashi Hatake was the squad leader of the team that found it in some ruins not very far from here. He still gets reports for it. Now, if you can find anything on it in his house."

"You mean in his pants," Risa joked. Kyo's face darkened.

"Now there's no reason—"

"A ninja's gotta do what a ninja's gotta do," Mei said, shaking her head. "If that's the best way to get the info, power to you."

"If I may, Risa," Kin spoke up, "You'll never get another chance at a piece like that."

"She has a point. Wait, is he handsome?" Mei asked. Risa grinned.

"Oh yeah," she said, nodding furiously. "And he wears a mask. How much more tall, dark, and mysterious can you get?"

"Even I think I'd tap that," Kin commented. The sun slowly began to creep through the windows.

"Alright, I have to go. Thank you, everybody, and I'll hopefully be back with the key to their destruction!"

Risa looked back at her hometown and sighed. She'd only been there a day. She'd hoped for a little time to relax before getting back to the ninja life. Kyo renewed her seventeen year old body, and it took surprisingly little time to explain to Kin that Risa was actually twenty six. The princess then mumbled something about that explaining 'the looks'. What looks? She'd not been giving anyone looks! Risa set out, jumping through the trees instead of the road. It's not like she particularly _looked_ at anyone in… particular. Okay, maybe there _was_ someone in particular, but it wasn't like she looked at Kakashi _much_! Oh dear, she'd just thought his name. Didn't mean to do that did she? Just thinking his name sent flutters through her, and she was not a fluttery person!

When she finally got to the Hokage's office to report in, she was being waited for.

**A/N**

**Anyone enjoy my collection of OCs? No? Well... I guess this is awkward then.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Good, you're back. I didn't expect you so soon, but I was just about to send someone to get you. Something's come up," she said urgently.

"I'm ready for anything," Risa answered faithfully.

"Kakashi and you are going on a mission," she stated bluntly. "There's a family that runs a lot of the southern border sections, and they've been taken hostage. The ransom price for everyone is their daughter who was out at the time of the assault. We don't know why they want her, but we have no intention of letting anyone die in this situation. Their home burned down last month, along with any photographical evidence of the daughter's identity, and I'm told she looks a great deal like you. We're going to give you a week to train with Kakashi and learn everything you can from…" She tossed a few papers aside and picked one up, analyzing it. "Kimiko."

"Understood," Risa said and bowed, leaving. Kakashi was waiting for her, and he followed her out. Protect some nobles. What an ironic job for her. "I guess we should get started, huh?"

"I guess we should," Kakashi muttered. Risa caught his leg in mid-air before it could collide with her head. She looked back at him and smirked.

"Last one to the training fields buys dinner," she said and jolted off. Kakashi smirked and rocketed after her. He found her jumping across the roofs, and he grabbed her leg, throwing her down. She hit the roof of a tea shop rather hard and rolled off the side. Her teacher hesitated for a moment before moving on. If a little thing like that could phase her, they had a lot of work to do. Just after that thought, he felt something yank on the back of his shirt. It pulled him off his balance, but he recovered by flipping backwards and landing on a flat roof. He pushed off, chasing after a giggling brunette. She bounded off the last roof and made the mistake of closing her eyes for the impact of the training fields. She landed not feet-first and rolling as she intended but in a pair of arms.

"Does eight sound good?" Kakashi asked, smirking unbelievably sexily. She turned red, half of it from embarrassment at being in his arms and half of it from anger at being beaten. He let her down and sunk into an attack stance.

"Perfect," she said, moving into one of her own. He lunged first, and she blocked. He attacked with the strength of a fury, and it made her back up. He drove her almost in to a corner—fight or flight into the trees. She blocked one last attack and saw a small opening. She took it, unsheathing a hidden kunai on her thigh and swiping at his midsection. She managed to cut open his shirt but not to cut him, as he leapt back the moment he saw the shining knife.

"Nice," he complimented her. She was breathing a bit faster, her senses heightened because of the battle.

"I try," she said back.

"Try harder," was his only answer before he attacked her again. This went on for another few hours, and she was starting to get tired. She tried to hit him with a downwards kick, but he caught her and trapped her against a tree. She breathed heavily for a moment, his hands clutching her waist and the underside of her leg. One leg was thrown over his shoulder, and the other was twitching at his side. She threw herself forwards, catching his head with her legs. She pulled him down. Her hands planted into the ground, and to his surprise, she swung him up in an arch. She slammed him to the ground with a summersault attack. She scrambled up and tried to kick him again, but he rolled away.

"That was very nice," he said.

"Don't sound so surprised, Kakashi-sensei. It might hurt my feelings," she panted. He made to punch her face, and she made to block. He struck her arm, and she winced more than she should have. He didn't recall hitting her too hard, at least on her arms.

"What happened here?" He asked. She tried to pull away but his true jonin speed was too fast for her. He had her arm in his grasp and unwrapped the bandages before she could blink. He saw the big purple bruise there. She looked down.

"Kakashi-sensei…" She started, but he grabbed her other arm and snatched off the bandages there. Another, greener bruise littered her upper arm.

"Does your family beat you?" He asked suddenly. His eye narrowed, gauging her reaction. It certainly made sense. He'd seen too many a good ninja fall prey to a family member. It would explain that smile on her face when she seemed so different at other times. "What did they use here? A broom handle? A crowbar?"

"It isn't anything like that, Sensei. I got into a fight when I went back home. They cleaned me up pretty good," she explained. His grip loosened on her wrists. She seemed to be telling the truth.

"If some civilian could make you look like this, why should I be training you?" He asked, arms folding.

"I didn't fight back, of course I didn't fight back," she said, almost offended at his accusation of weakness. "If I'd fought back, he'd have died." She looked down at her bruises. "These are the smallest price to pay if no one dies," she said in a small voice. It was true. Kakashi sighed and put a hand to his head.

"I apologize," he said. She nodded her head in thanks. His hands were only loosely clutching her wrists now, sort of holding her hands. She made to move away, but he pulled her down into the grass. "We can't keep practicing while these are still here." She felt his chakra push into her veins, and her bruises stopped hurting.

"You are a man of many talents," she commented.

"I've been a ninja all my life, and you don't think I can heal a few bruises? I'm hurt," he said and feigned pain. "I think it'll be a good idea for you to take the afternoon to pack and do what you need to do because you aren't going to have time in the next few days. I'll meet you at Ichiraku's at eight for my victory dinner." He smiled under his mask, and she looked to the side.

"I'd hoped you'd forgotten about that," she said.

"Nope," he replied and stood. "I have an excellent memory." She stood with him and dusted herself off.

"And yet you can never remember the meaning of the word 'punctual'," she quipped. They started to walk out together.

"That's a low blow," he said.

"Ah, but you used to know how to block those. Low blows with fists you can cope with, but low blows with words? You stumble," she replied, placing her hands behind her back. He grunted in response, and she smirked at her small victory. "I'll be going then." She skipped off down the road, leaving Kakashi to nurse his pride.

**A/N**

**Oooh, we gunna get a little Kakashi and Risa alone time :3**


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, Risa was a bit tired. Kakashi had plagued her dreams, a seductive illness that kept her up in the early hours of the morning. The cold shower she'd taken had hardly taken the edge off. She was waiting over by the cliffs. He'd asked her to wait for him there, and surprise surprise he was late. Though somehow, he was less late than usual. He came from behind, not giving her a chance to defend herself. He took her hands and pushed her down onto a flat rock surface. Both of her hands were easily taken by one of his, and his other hand was in her hair, pressing her face into the rock. She closed her eyes, fighting back the wave arousal. This, in fact, was one of the dreams last night. Him and her, perhaps a kitchen table. He started to bind her hands, and she practically rolled her eyes. Could this man see into her dreams? She refrained from making a snappy comment about how the last time she'd been trussed up, it wasn't by near as handsome a man. Technically, it wasn't by a _man_ per se but that was beside the point.

"You should always be aware," he said in a very sage-like voice. "Well, today is going to be an exercise in physical strength. There are going to be times when you can't use your chakra." He'd begun to lead her to the edge, and she was standing, hands bound, at the precipice. She was facing him.

"So we're going to fight?" She asked. He shook his head and put two fingers to her chest. Just when she thought he was going to say something cheesy, he pushed. Two fingers and that's all it took to send her toppling over the edge. She refused to let out a scream but hit the ground with noble determination.

"You can have twenty four hours to climb up. If too much time passes or if you can't do it, I'm sure the rope won't be much trouble for you. Afterwards, I want you to come and find me and take this," he explained and held up a little cat toy. It was basically a little bell tied to a string with a feather.

"Did you pick that up on the way here?" She called up. She wanted to shield her eyes from the sun, but her hands were, of course, bound.

"That's beside the point. In the meantime, I'd like you to meet Kimiko," he said, and a brown haired girl peered over the edge. Her hair was straight cut, and she was pale from what Risa could make out. "She'll be telling you everything you need to know about her life."

"Alright, I can do this," she said to herself. Kakashi left the ledge, but Kimiko stayed.

"What should I start with?" She asked.

"Your family," Risa commanded and ran at the wall. She made it about three meters up before her momentum was lost. She cursed. There was a ledge about eighteen meters up, but she would never get to it with her current approach. She backed up unto a higher rock platform and leapt at the canyon wall. She found a rock hold with her knee and another by extending her leg into an almost split-like pose. It still wasn't the most uncomfortable posture she would take all day. Kimiko began to tell her about her family, their names and such. She tried to store all that knowledge, as a shinobi should.

She flexed her leg, bringing her a little higher. She pushed off with her knee, and with quick reflexes, shot out her leg so that her shin was propped up against a rock protruding from the wall. A bulb in the smooth canyon nudged her head, as she readjusted herself. The kunoichi felt around it and propped up her head on it. Her muscles screamed when she used this as leverage. Eventually but utilizing her whole body, she managed to scale her way up to the ledge. She rested for a moment, already drained and with two-thirds of the canyon to go. She was using muscles she didn't even know she had! The rest of the canyon looked even smoother than the first leg, and she groaned.

"My brother Gin loves chocolate more than he has ever loved anyone, and he would die for his stuffed bear before he would die for any of us," Kimiko continued.

Risa had made a few more meters of progress when she lost focus. Just a split second and she fell back, all the way back to the bottom. When she finally got up, a trickle of blood ran down her temple. It was just a trickle, nothing serious. The sun beat down upon her so hard it reminded her of that guard. She let out a scream. A frustrated cry of agony. She'd gone _so far_! Kimiko looked over the side, ceasing her babble.

"Are you okay?" She called. Risa let out a string of curses. "Also there's no swearing at my house."

Risa sat at the bottom of the canyon and stared at the top. How in the world was she supposed do this? Maybe this was an exercise in humility? Was she supposed to ask for help? No. There's no use for that kind of exercise with just a few days to train. She scrabbled over to a column of rock that extended about two thirds up the canyon and sat in its shade. Kimiko continued prattling about her stupid noble family. _Is this what hell is like?_ She wondered. Burning? Check. Impossible task? Check. Pain? Double check. On top of all that, Kimiko's voice echoed through the blazing sunlight. Risa's head fell back against the column. She considered climbing it and jumping to the top, but it was too far away to be any good. Unless… She jerked up. Oh, this was perhaps the worst formed idea yet.

She began to kick the column, loosening the dirt. It took her hours upon hours to finally get it where she wanted. Another hour was spent carefully climbing up to the ledge, a large rock clutched between her teeth. Kimiko went home before Risa ever really reached the ledge for the second time, and the moon rose. A blessing! She reached the ledge, panting heavily. She dropped the rock from her mouth and spat out a glob of dirt. She had one shot. Her foot burrowed under the rock, and she launched it towards the carefully carved pillar. She'd gauged out enough rock, so when she hit it with this one, the pillar began to topple. She prayed against all odds that the pillar would fall this way. With the little bit of luck she had left, the big rock column tilted her way. She readied herself and waited for just the right moment. She counted out one, two, three seconds before the pillar was in place on its way down. She launched herself up and bounded off the top of the pillar. She soared through the air, but it wasn't good enough. The brown-haired ninja flipped, aiming the back of her foot for the edge of the canyon. She connected and let out a painful scream of triumph. Her foot, bloodied and torn, caught on the rocks that became jagged and broken at her impact. She pulled herself up, tearing her own foot and ankle up just to get to the top.

"Suck on that, Sensei!" She cried and leapt into the air. Risa landed on her bad foot, wincing and going down. She started to work at the ties, easily setting herself free. Her anger slowly built. That Kakashi was going to pay. What kind of fucking training was this? She set off to scour the city for her so-called mentor.

When she finally found him, he was engaged in a drinking game with Guy-sensei. What a complete hack! She started in on him immediately, throwing the first punch right there in the greasy bar. He blocked her sloppily, revealing the twelve shots he'd already taken.

"Sorry, Guy. I'm going to have to continue this another time. I have to beat the shit out of my student," he laughed. The man in the green suit hopped up on lead legs and began to sway.

"If you leave now, Kakashi, I'm declaring this MY win!" He announced, his sentence frequently punctured by lively little hiccups.

"You're going to call this a draw, boys," Risa said coldly and grabbed a hold of Kakashi's arm. In one quick movement, she launched him through one of the bar's two windows. "He'll pay for the damages," she called to the bartender. Kakashi was laughing almost hysterically.

"Did you see that throw? Man, did I get a great student, huh?" He yelled, mostly talking to Guy.

"You're going to beat the shit out of me, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, repeating his words.

"How else am I supposed to teach you?" He griped. God, she was going to _kill_ this man! She launched into a volley of attacks, some physical, some jutsu-based. The alcohol slowed him down a little, but also it made him more loose. He didn't have to worry about hurting his precious little subordinate because his drunken mind didn't give any fucks. That was why he was _dangerous_. She, on the other hand, just endured about fourteen hours of mental torture, a likely composite of nine hours physical torture, and she had to listen to Kimiko for god knows how long. That was why _she_ was dangerous.

Their fight spilled over into the street, and all the local traffic avoided the two like the plague. They'd seen the destruction two fighting ninja could cause, and they didn't want any part in it. A small crowd, including Guy, gathered to watch from inside the bar and out. It seemed for a while that Risa had the upper hand with sheer rage, but Kakashi was slowly winning out through stamina alone. His movements were almost slicker, smoother than when he was sober. Perhaps because he no longer had to analyze everything. This way, he was only focused on Risa, and it improved his fighting if only in fluidity. Her jutsus flew at him, rocks and dust becoming commonplace in the air. So much so that it was blocking visibility. Soon, very few could tell who was winning. It seemed Kakashi got a nice hit on Risa, but she began to improve. Her movements became of jonin speed and strength. Her jutsus became more sophisticated and consumed less chakra. Within the span of one fight, she was… better.

It took one hit to the jaw to stun him. He fell, and she was instantly on top of him. She took his shirt in her hands and socked him one real good, right in his face.

"I should go now," she said tightly, her fingers itching to bury themselves in his heart. She took the cat toy that he had stashed in his pocket and stood over him, frowning. She turned and left so quickly that no one could follow her even if they wanted to. To beat the great Kakashi Hatake was not something anyone took lightly. Guy sauntered over and plopped himself next to the beaten man in the middle of the street.

"You're doing _that_ training, aren't you?" He asked. Kakashi put an arm behind his head and looked at the stars. Not very many out that night—or rather that morning. "You know the last student that went through this died."

"We're facing Ryuu the Punisher," Kakashi said simply. The green jonin sighed.

"Were you really fighting just now?" Guy queried innocently. The copy-nin curled upwards into a sitting position and prodded his face for forming bumps.

"I actually kind of was. I didn't know she was that powerful. I can't think of a reason why she should have already been a jonin with those kinds of jutsu."

Risa cursed at him and then she cursed at herself. How could she be so stupid? Was her womanly pride really worth screwing the whole mission? For this to work, they all had to believe she was seventeen! They all had to believe that she was an innocent, trustworthy little angel! Losing to Kakashi wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world. Okay, it wouldn't have been very high on the list at least! The girl put a hand to her head. Twenty six years old and still managing her anger. She sighed and marched on to her flat. She hoped he had a killer hangover.

**A/N**

**Hehe. I must hate my characters.**

**HALEYCOMET YOU ARE A WONDERFUL AND GENEROUS PERSON AND YOU MADE ME MAKE STRANGE NOISES WHEN I SAW THAT SOMEONE FINALLY COMMENTED. GOOD STRANGE NOISES.**


	14. Chapter 14

The third day was entirely devoted to learning about Kimiko's family. Every small detail, every skeleton in their closets was now Risa's. She had to be convincing, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was the real Kimiko. Surprisingly, they did look strikingly similar. (It was scary.)

However, the fourth day was more training with Kakashi, and this time it was acting classes. She almost rolled her eyes when he told her.

"I don't need acting classes," she emphasized. Of all people, she was the one who _least_ needed acting classes.

"Convince me," he said. She sighed in return.

"Tell me which is a lie," she said and schooled her face. "My mother is dead," she said, her voice catching a little on 'dead'. "My father was a no-good rat who ran off with some bimbo before I was born," she recited, her hands balling in to fists. She looked up at him, catching his calculating gaze. "And I think I'm falling in love with you." He stepped back a little, caught off guard by this statement. In truth, he couldn't tell which was the lie, so he went with the most likely.

"The one about me," he guessed. She shook her head, and a jolt of electricity went through him. She smirked.

"They were all lies," she lied. He started chuckling.

"Alright, then I suppose we should start on weapons training," he sighed, relief washing over him. Not that having a little fun with his cute subordinate wouldn't be satisfying, in fact if she was a bit older he would consider truly dating her. She was a decent girl. He liked her personality well enough, and she was actually pretty sexy for a seventeen year old. But he was twenty eight. Over a decade separated them! Risa silently berated herself. That was almost a disaster.

The fifth day was all about chakra control—water walking and tree climbing. He surprised her by actual starting to spar with her on the tree and out on the water. She slipped up a few times, almost drowning once and almost cracking her skull. It was like he was trying to kill her! Tired and bruised, she set about healing her injuries when a knock came at her door. It was him. And her. Kakashi and Kimiko pushed past her into her flat.

"Excuse you," she muttered, irritated beyond belief. She was supposed to be able to sleep! It wasn't long before Kimiko launched into another one of her stories. Kakashi settled himself on Risa's couch and fell asleep after a few hours. She envied him, but there was still so much she didn't know about Kimiko.

"Was there ever a guy you liked?" Risa asked suddenly, gazing at Kakashi. Kimiko turned pink.

"W-Well there was one… He told me his name was Yu. We were friends when we were kids, but he went away. When he came back he was… damn. And we, well… Yeah," she said and turned pink. "My parents found out and tried to erase my memories. I let them think they had, but I've always dreamed about finding him again. You're so easy to talk to!"

"Yeah…" Risa smiled painfully. Somehow, for the student-teacher it wasn't really a good thing. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"I think it would be worth it," she hinted. "To be with who I wanted, even if no one approved." Kimiko looked pointedly at the snoozing Kakashi.

"There isn't anything between us," Risa assured her.

"Except a mountain of sexual attraction. That's how it started with Yu and me. We screwed like rabbits for a night and then my parents caught us. I'm positive that I would have run away with him if I got the chance," Risa's look-alike said. "I miss him… all the time."

"I'm sure you'll be reunited one day. Now get some rest."

The sixth day was about pushing her to the limit. He fought her, pretty much all out, the entire day and on into the night. He held very little back, and she fought with everything she had. He was highly surprised by her level of skill. He'd never seen anyone improve this much in such little time. He was going to instantly recommend jonin status after this mission. She was ready.

And on the seventh day she rested. Like a rock.

**A/N**

**I have three comments now :) They're all from the same person but... ANYWAYS. Who's excited to go on a mission? I AM. Risa is not. She's tired.**


	15. Chapter 15

**PLEASE NOTE: This chapter is slightly more mature than other chapters. Should you wish to skip any such writing, I'll leave a summary in the note at the bottom.**

The house was more like a palace or a mansion. She left Kakashi about an hour before in case anyone was watching and hurried ahead. Her regal dress was hindering her ability to run. How did anyone walk in such preposterous heels? She was given a backpack with some personal belongings of Kimiko's. She clicked up the staircase towards the door, excitement curling in her stomach. Her face was set in a mask of slight fear. Risa pushed open the doors. They didn't creak but slid open silently. A man waited for her. A large scythe rested on his shoulder. A black cloak was ripped and torn but still hung around his neck. His massive chest was bare save the bandages wrapped around his midsection and the several black tattoos adorning his upper chest and shoulders. A black dragon spat shadowy fire and looped around his neck. A charcoal skull laughed on his breast. He was a large man—over six feet and menacing as any man she'd ever seen. As well as completely handsome. There was something about that bad boy vibe that made Risa curse her own tastes.

"I've been waiting for you, Kimiko," he chuckled. The two doors slammed shut, making her jump. Two other men grabbed her arms and dragged her towards the man. They shoved her in his face, and she turned away. "My dear, don't you remember me? All that I did to you on that cold December night?" She shook her head.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered. "And don't hurt my family either." She figured this was the Yu that Kimiko had told her about, but she also said that her family had erased her memory.

"Maybe I'll have to remind you," he growled. "Boys, you're dismissed." Risa heard doors close, and he took her face. He was surprisingly gentle.

"Please, sir. I just wanted to save my family. If you're going to hurt me, at least let them go first. If you let them go, I'll… I'll do anything you want," she said, her voice not the only thing that was trembling. He brushed her hair back, settling his hand in her hair.

"You've grown so much, Kimi. I'll let you see your family, but I'm not letting anyone go until you remember," he said lowly. "Remember what we had…" He let her go, and she ran off. A maid caught her in the hall.

"Oh, Miss! You should not have come!" She exclaimed through teary eyes. "I'm afraid he plans to… defile you. He is a cruel man! I would advise you to flee, should you get the chance." It seemed that Risa's disguise was working. Even the wait staff couldn't tell them apart! A guard rounded the corner, and the maid hurried off. Risa quickly followed her, and the girl led her right to her family.

"Kimiko?" The person she assumed was her mother said. "No—"

"Mother!" Risa exclaimed and embraced the tired looking woman. "Your daughter is safe. They sent me instead. Please play along," she whispered.

"Kimiko!" She cried. "Oh, Kimiko we've been so worried about you! I'm… I'm so sorry for this. I'm sorry that you had to come save us. Is he…?"

"No. He won't let you out yet. Is he okay?" She asked, pointing to what she thought was her grandfather. She looked around at the wary people who seemed to have gotten her mother's message. They went over to him. He was deathly pale and coughing meekly every ten seconds.

"Ki-mi-ko?" He breathed. "Oh, my little Kimiko. I'm so glad to have you here."

"We need a doctor!" She called. She saw Yu at the door. Risa glared at him, and he turned away. She cursed inwardly. Kakashi had sealed her chakra due to the fact that civilians didn't have chakra. There was no way to heal him. She would just have to _remember_. Kakashi was watching, though. She couldn't sense him with the damn seal, but she knew he was there. He would probably step in if anything got too hairy.

Risa managed to avoid Yu for a week. She busied herself with healing her grandfather, cooking, and playing with Gin, her little brother. Every time she saw Yu coming, she would retreat back into the room with her family and shut the door. Once, she even had to duck into a closet. She found a white-haired surprise.

"Sensei!" She whispered, but he put his hand over her mouth. He shifted, crushing her against the wall. She let out a surprised squeak. His eyes widened, and he felt an enormous chakra presence stop outside the door. Someone reached for the door, and he heard someone mutter something about 'bats'. The door clicked. They were locked in. Her ankle was being squished against the wall and his shin, so she tried to turn around. His breath caught when her body became flush against him. When she was facing him, at least there were a few inches for propriety. Her ass slowly grinded against him, as she tried to become more comfortable. Why were there even closets this small?

"Stop moving," he growled. Heat rushed upon her face, and even more flowed in between her legs. Barely a few layers of clothing kept them from… She tried not to moan. His arms rested above her head, and her own were sandwiched between her breasts and the wall. Risa shifted her weight to her other foot, and Kakashi let out a shaky breath, resting his head against the wall just over hers. She bit her lip, wondering what the ramifications would be of grinding on her teacher in a closet during a mission.

"We have to…" She whispered and pressed her body against his. Escape can wait! Kakashi screamed at her in his head, but then all thoughts went up like smoke. She pressed her ass against him and slowly tried to get her hands on his kunai. She groped around his thigh, looking for his holster. Risa felt his erection begin to build at her back. She smirked wickedly, but he was unable to see it.

"I. Said. Stop," he ordered in the scariest voice he had. She froze, almost losing it at his tone. Damn, he was sexy.

"We have to get out," she explained. Kakashi scowled.

"Let me," he breathed into her ear. He brought his hand down and looped it through the small space where her neck provided him room to. He brought his hand slowly down, over her breasts and over her stomach. He pressed them closely together, as he reached around her body to grab his kunai.

"I think you have a kunai in your pocket, Sensei," she said innocently. "I-It's kind of uncomfortable. Do you mind if I…?" She moved downwards then sideways, relentlessly grinding against him. He almost choked, biting his lip to stop him from moaning.

"Please stop," he pleaded. She decided to take pity on him and acquiesced.

"Why, Sensei?" She asked. He growled in frustration and brought the kunai out from under her. She didn't move again, as he pried the doorknob off. She inwardly snickered. When he finally got it off, he dropped the kunai.

"Get out," he breathed, using all his restraint not to take her right there. She spilled out into the hallway and cast one last glance at Kakashi—plus one massive bulge in his pants. Risa hurried off and in her haste, slamed right into Yu.

"Kimiko!" He exclaimed and caught her before she fell. His hand closed about her wrist. She needed to get away before he noticed her arousal! "I've been thinking. Why don't you come by the study, and I'll _remind _you about our relationship."

"Stay away from me," she said hurriedly and rushed off.

Slowly, Yu became more and more angry. Her rejection made him seethe with rage. His anger came to a head when they found a white-haired man sneaking around at one in the morning. He burst into her room and seized her, taking her back to the study. Two heavy men held Kakashi in a kneeling position. Risa's eyes widened when she saw the red in his hair. Blood. How did these petty mercenaries defeat the mighty copy-nin?

"Ka—" she began, but his look silenced her. Yu tossed her into the room.

"So you do know him?" He snarled. "Is he the reason that you've been so cold to me? Have you been screwing him?" She cowered before him. Kakashi's gaze slid back and forth between the two, knowing that she could crush his spine at any moment. What a strange mission this was turning out to be…

"No, Yu. He's just a ninja the Leaf sent with me. Did we…" She began and bit her lip, looking up at Ryuu. She really had that look down, her teacher noted. "Did we know each other?"

"Yes. God yes," he said, voice trembling. He pulled her up to sit in his lap, and she stared into his deep black eyes.

"Then I think maybe… I think maybe my parents erased my memories," she stuttered and looked away. "If we really did know each other… Here. I found this a few years ago, but I never knew what it was. Maybe it's a kind of seal." She took his hand and put in on her neck. The chakra his body emitted unconsciously made the seal on her neck quite visible. Kakashi's eyes widened. Just what was she playing at?

"It is a seal. I think I can break it too," Ryuu muttered, probing her neck. Her head fell sideways, and her body jerked as he poured chakra into the seal. It broke almost immediately. The seal was never meant to be durable—it was just meant to work. She gasped and fell into him. Her body jolted and shuddered. She stilled after a few moments of thrashing, clinging desperately to Ryuu's shoulders.

"Yu…" She breathed and looked him in the eyes. Her lips were at his without a moment's notice. He kissed her deeply, winding his fingers into her short hair. His hand fanned out across her back, pressing her into his chest. He picked her up and spun, pushing her against the wall. She looked over his shoulder and met Kakashi's hard gaze. He nodded, and they sprang into action. Risa brought her hand down hard on the base of his neck, and Kakashi began to systematically kick the two guard's asses. She only stunned him, and he gasped her fake name. His eyes narrowed, as she went in for another stun attack. He swept around, snagging his scythe and swinging at her. She back flipped out of the way, coming to a stop.

"You bitch," he spat. "Where's Kimiko?" He swung the scythe like a mad man, making her dodge with skills higher than she should have. A rumbling started, and columns of earth shot out of the floor. Ryuu dodged them, but they started chasing after him. With a few swings of his scythe, he sliced through them like butter. "Shadow reaper," he muttered and made a wide arc, almost ripping her shirt. Dark tendrils chased her, and she managed to avoid all but one that wrapped around her arm. Ryuu charged after her, and she felt that arm go numb.

"Trade!" She shouted and hopped over a crouching Kakashi. The two men were a bit easier than Ryuu the Punisher, and Risa was more inclined to fight against groups than one-on-one. Without the use of her right arm, she held a kunai in her left hand. One of the ninja shot a kick to her face, and she braced the kunai into her shoulder, embedding it in his foot by the force of his own attack. The woman pulled his leg forwards and dropped to slide under him, avoiding the secondary attack made by the other ninja. The two enemies crashed into one and other. With a swift kick, she sent both flying into the wall. Kakashi suddenly appeared at her side, and they shared a look.

"Where's the real Kimiko?" Yu seethed. Both of his arms were bleeding, shallow cuts decorating the flesh. The copy nin darted to his right and Risa flew head on at him. With her speed, she managed to get inside the scythe's curve and head butt him right in the nose. He stumbled back, Kakashi taking that chance to shove the man into the desk. He toppled over it, chakra exhaustion weighting down on him. He was built for strength and not endurance.

"Next time you want to ask a girl out, try not to take her family hostage," she advised and with a swift uppercut, knocked the burly man out cold.

"That was easier than expected," Kakashi commented, dusting off his hands.

"Easy. Yeah," she panted.

"Although watching you get spanked was probably the funniest thing that's ever happened to me on a mission," he pondered. Risa took him by the collar and glared at his dumb smirk.

"You know, you could have helped," she griped and shoved him away, muttering, "Sadist."

"Hey, I take whatever enjoyment I can get," he grinned and put his hands behind his head. "I guess the cleanup will be here soon, and I'm deadbeat. Neh, I'm leaving."

**A/N**

**TAKE THE WHOLE THING. THE WHOLE MISSION. JUST HAVE IT ALL IN ONE CHAPTER WHY DON'T YOU? Comments are appreciated! Especially detailed ones or you know... ones at all! Just saying.**

**ALSO, Risa is getting saucy! ^.^**

**SUMMARY: Risa and Kakashi kick ass. Basically. They get stuck in a closet, like, once. Then that's it. It's mostly bonding or some shit. I don't even know why I write.**


	16. Chapter 16

Their homecoming was underwhelming and entirely what she'd craved. She hadn't slept much since she'd been trapped in that closet, grinding against Kakashi. Incidentally, he hadn't either. She followed him home in a half-sleep haze and fell asleep on his couch without further ceremony. It was a miracle that Kakashi even made it to his bed. To her surprise and great annoyance, Kyo interrupted a steamy session with her silver wolf and appeared in her dreams and warned her of an impending purge. He told her that his sources informed him that Kakashi had finally received the papers regarding one of the legendary swords they could use to take back Heiwa. Dream-hopping was a technique they only used when it was an emergency. She _needed_ to get into his pants, and maybe she could search his house for the papers while he slept. Risa knew she couldn't do it now because she was entirely too exhausted even to go home. Twelve hours wasn't near enough time to catch up on all the sleep she needed, but it only took twelve hours for the rest of team seven to find them and barge in.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto sang and pranced through the open door. She would seriously have to consider buying him a new lock. Or just force him to lock it once and a while.

"Shut up, you blabbering idiot!" Risa groaned and tossed an arm over her eyes. Just a few more minutes.

"Did you stay over here last night?" Sakura asked.

"Did you have sex with Kakashi-senpai?" Sai asked. Risa sat up with the reflexes of a much more awake woman.

"No!" She exclaimed and pressed a hand to her head. A headache smacked her in the face with a brick, probably due to the speed of her rising.

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," the pink haired kunoichi crooned.

"There are too many people in my living room. About three too many," Kakashi said from the door to his bedroom. He was shirtless, save for his mask, and his hair was wildly out of its normal shape. Though to call his hair normal would be a gross overstatement. His mask was still in place, but his obvious scowl was as menacing as Risa's.

"We just wanted to celebrate a job well done!" Naruto smiled. "We heard your mission was a success." Risa groaned and fell back into the couch.

"Couldn't you have heard, oh say, a day or two from now?" She lamented. "I haven't gotten much sleep in the last few days."

"Why's that?" Sai asked, innocently insinuating something scandalous. Sakura's eyebrows shot up, and she threw a glance at both disheveled ninja. Risa peeked out from under her arm and caught Kakashi's gaze. The tips of his ears had begun to turn a rosy, revealing pink.

"I was tired, so I crashed here. My flat is pretty far away," Risa explained tiredly.

"A lie by omission is still a lie," Sakura reminded her. Their teacher sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How about all of you come over tomorrow? Well, have a special team seven get-together and tell you all about our mission, huh?" He said. Naruto nodded, seemingly placated. The copy-nin shoved them all out the door. "Does that appease you vultures?" He growled and dropped on to the couch with Risa.

"I'm sorry, Sensei," she muttered. "I didn't realize I'd cause you so much trouble just by sleeping on your couch." He chuckled and leaned back, trapping her legs into the soft cushions.

"Those kids… I swear they're going to be the death of me," he groaned.

"I'm not included in 'those kids'?" She asked and snuggled further in to his sofa. The warmth from his body on her legs lulled her back into a half-sleeping state.

"You understand more than they do," he said, but his mind flashed back to the closet. "And sometimes a little less. Risa, you were assigned to my squad as… a student-teacher. With just a little more training, I think you're ready to become a jonin." He was going to recommend immediate jonin status once they returned, but her blatant naïve actions on the mission made him hesitant. He also knew how these things worked. If her sexuality was what was in the way and the higher-ups knew, there was no mistaking why they'd placed Risa with him. They probably thought it was only a matter of time. He wondered… How hard would it be to seduce his student? A touch here, a light kiss there, and a throaty suggestion from her superior officer. Would she be shy, or would she try to please him? Would she want it, or see it as her duty to her Sensei? Is she experienced? Without realizing it, his fingers started to ghost over her exposed thigh. She'd never taken off that ridiculous dress, and it rode up while she was sleeping. His gazed trailed, entranced by her lithe body, up and up and up. Her blue eyes scrutinized his one black one. She couldn't tell how wide his pupils had dilated, but she guessed it was pretty wide.

Got him.

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**The rest of this chapter is going up separately because of its mature themes. (Didn't that sound official?) Anyways, RISA IS BEING A BAD GIRLLLLLLL, AND KAKASHI IS BEING STUPID.**


	17. Chapter 17

Risa silently cursed and snaked out of his grip with uncanny grace. She only had an hour to search his flat for the papers regarding the sword. How was she supposed to know he would be so wonderfully exhausting? She stole some of his clothes and systematically tossed his flat, she but made sure to leave everything exactly the way it was. Her eye caught his bookshelf. Jackpot. She rummaged through his books until she spotted a copy of the same Icha-Icha. It was a different cover art, but it was definitely the same one. She picked out both of them. One turned out to be hollow and stuffed with crisp papers. She took them all and mentally happy danced. A phone bill. A briefing on the search for Sasuke. There! Order No. 329 in regards to Zeus's Spear.

"Sent to Suna for…" Her brow furrowed. "Destruction?" Her fists clenched, and she launched the papers across the room. They fluttered harmlessly to the ground. "Destruction!" Her whole body shook with rage. What in the hell was she supposed to do now? She picked up the papers with shaking hands. Another purge… She failed them. She failed everyone. For a fleeting moment, she saw herself, laughing over a bowl of ramen with team seven, throwing sly glances at her Sensei. Somehow she wished it could be like that all the time. She shook her head, another image of her town soaked in blood chasing away any happy memories she'd ever dreamed up. Kyo, Mei, Kin. Who was next? Who was going to die because she wasn't fast enough? She started to cry, big hot tears that were saved for a special occasion.

Kakashi awoke to an empty bed. His stomach dropped through the floor. He didn't mean for it to go that far. He was just planning to take her once, hard and fast. He was going to ignore her cries of pain, use her and be done with it. That was how those things went. Something changed. Whether it was seeing her there, splayed out for him, or just the thought of making Risa—_his_ Risa—feel like that… Somehow he didn't want to recommend her for jonin because he knew how these things went. Soft crying reached his ears, and he jolted out of bed. The copy nin threw on a pair of pants so as not to scare her anymore and rushed out into his living room.

The door clicked softly shut.

He cursed and chased after her. She was marching, halfway down the hallway when he caught her arm.

"Risa, I…" He began. She turned back to him, a teary-eyed smile on her face.

"Sensei, a ninja stopped by and told me that team seven should report to Hikon to check on Kin," she said. She reached up and caressed his face. "You forgot your mask, Kakashi. I'll go tell everyone else, and we can meet you at the gates in half an hour."

"Risa—"

"Punctual," she said and ran a thumb over his lip. "Happening or doing something at the agreed or proper time; on time." On a more normal day, he would have been at least the slightest bit suspicious, but his thoughts all revolved around one woman. She turned and walked away from him. He didn't stop her this time, didn't know if he could. His whole body tingled from the after effects of their night, and he turned back to his flat and pushed his door open. He didn't even see his books out of place.

"Punctual," he muttered and chuckled. "This woman…"

He met her as quickly as possible. She went home to change and hopped around town to tell the rest of team seven about the mission. Almost as soon as she got to the gates, Kakashi showed up.

"I think you've surpassed punctual and gone right to early," she commented, smiling broadly. He frowned at her. Why was she so cordial?

"Risa, we need to talk," he said lowly. She fidgeted with her sleeve.

"Was that the training?" She asked. She would only get this one last chance to fuck with him, and she would milk it for all its worth. Risa made sure to look down, all innocent like.

"I don't know what to say," he stressed, "But I want you to know that I didn't mean to… Make you feel bad. I heard you crying, and I-I'm sorry."

"Sensei, I haven't really _been_ with many people." Lie. "And I think I was just scared that what… happened meant that I couldn't be on the team anymore." Truth. "But you have to know that I don't intend on pursuing a relationship with you or anything because…" _I'm probably going to die in the next twenty four hours_. "I love being on team seven." Truth.

"Risa, I… I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that, and I'm sorry," he said and put his hand at her face. She leaned into his hand and smiled coyly.

"You didn't take advantage of me," she assured him. "I wanted it just as much you. For god's sakes, Kakashi-sensei, I sucked your… Never mind. You shouldn't feel guilty."

"Yeah, you did kind of…" He broke out into a grin. Risa couldn't stop herself. She knew that she would never be able to come back to Konoha after this, but the promises-she-can't-keep part of her brain was cheering her on.

"Maybe when we get back, I could come over again," she suggested and bit her lip. "I bet you know lots of ways to make me forget the meaning of the word punctual."

"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here so early?" Naruto called, towing tired looking Sai and Sakura behind him. He turned quickly, and Risa stepped back.

"It turns out our Risa is smarter than we give her credit for!" He exclaimed. "She told me we were supposed to be here an hour ago, and I just showed up."

"So what's this mission?" Sakura asked, hefting her backpack higher.

"We're just going to visit Kin," Risa explained.

"Neh, Risa. Isn't that your hometown? We're going to finally see your hometown!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah," Risa smiled and started the long walk back home. "We're gunna have a blast…"

**A/N **

**And the plot thickens... MWAHAHAHA. Not really tho**


	18. Chapter 18

"Why in the hell would you bring _them_ here?" Kyo whispered urgently. Risa looked back to her living room where Mei and Kin were entertaining their guests.

"The sword was sent for destruction. I figure the Leaf might want its ninja back before it sends another Purge our way," she said.

"You're talking about kidnapping _the Great Copy Ninja_. Are you even up for that?" He hissed.

"Keep it down!" Risa muttered and moved further into the hallway. "Chakra rope is all we need, and it isn't hard to put chakra in some rope. Boom. Chakra rope. End of discussion." She knew she was being rash, but what else was she to do? She reentered the living room, joining in on the laughter.

"Then she puked all over the bed!" Mei laughed. Everyone's gaze shot to Risa.

"Mei, dear," Risa said dangerously. "I thought I told you never to tell that story again."

"Well Risa, dear," Mei said back. "I thought it was funny."

"Oh, do you think your face will be funny after I get done with it? I think it will," she said and fell into the girl's lap dramatically. Mei cradled her like a giant baby. "What if I tell that one story about the flaming—"

"No!" She said. "I mean, no. No. That's not necessary."

"Then shut it," Risa seethed. Asami rolled in, teacups on a tray.

"Who wants peach tea? I'm sure everyone does. Here you go," she said brightly and passed out the dainty cups. Risa narrowed her eyes at the veiled message. They didn't have peach tea. All three of her team members drank some, Naruto proclaiming that it was the best tea he'd ever had. Kakashi put his cup on the table on the side of his chair.

"Aren't you going to have some?" Mei asked him. He shook his head, citing that he wasn't thirsty. Risa began to get very nervous, as Sakura's eyes began to droop.

"Sensei, can I talk to you outside?" Risa asked and swayed over to the door. He eyed her questioningly but ended up following her out into the dusky road. She ducked into the shade in between her house and the next.

"What did you need?" He asked. Oh, he looked so cute. All worried and such.

"I just have to say that I'm sorry," she said quickly, glancing over his shoulder. "You were never meant to get involved like this. I-I really wish it didn't have to be… you." She reached up and caressed his face.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, and the sound of something breaking reached his ears. He turned, and Risa took that chance to strike the back of his neck at the sensitive cluster of nerves there. She channeled chakra into her hand, and he went down frighteningly easy. He wasn't knocked out yet, just paralyzed for a moment. "Risa?" He questioned, looking back at her with betrayal in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," she said sadly. "Please, don't look at me like that." Her hand came down on his neck again, and he fell into the dirt. She hefted him up over her shoulder and haphazardly carried him back into the house.

"Just someone clean it up. We don't have a lot of time. We should get them to the Central Building," Asami ordered. Risa saw the source of the earlier noise—a broken teacup. It likely fell from one of her teammates grips.

"Mom, can you wheel Sakura?" Risa asked, dragging a heavy Kakashi behind her.

"We can't go all conspicuous like that. They've increased the guard patrols. We have a wheelbarrow in the back," Mei informed her.

"A wheelbarrow?" Risa said incredulously. "That's not suspicious."

"Would you rather carry them all in your purse?" Asami griped. Risa rolled her eyes and started lugging her team out to be put in a surprisingly large wheelbarrow. They all fit into it, with a little squishing. Not that any of them were squishy, per se. Mei brought out a big brown tarp and helped Kyo fasten it over the four of them. Come to think of it, it wasn't really wheelbarrow, more like a giant wheeled box. They moved it around front and started for the biggest building in Heiwa.

.

When Kakashi awoke, he was bound to a pole. His team, save Risa, was prey to a similar fate, each of them bound to their own pole. He couldn't get out. He knew this within seconds of waking up. Whoever tied them did a good job. His head fell to the side, and his tired gaze fell upon none other than his _ex-student_. He thought this bitterly. How could she do this to her own team? She wasn't even seventeen; he could tell. Now, she looked about what? Twenty five? Twenty six? He had to admit, he liked the years on her. She gazed back at him, huddled in the corner.

"I—" She began, but Kakashi cut her off.

"Don't speak to me," he said disdainfully. "You are _worse_ than scum." That knife cut deep. Kyo started over to him, raising his hand to strike. Kakashi's head turned to the side, giving him better access. Kin stopped the boy from doing something Risa would regret.

"Seeing as you can't stop me, I'm going to talk all I want," the brown-haired girl answered. Naruto began to stir, and Sai's eyes snapped open as soon as Kyo punched the wall in frustration.

"You drugged us," the artist accused.

"Excuse me, I'm telling my story. This is very important," Risa said. "Do you want to know why I did it?"

"What I want to know is why you think it's still okay to try and talk to us as friends," Kakashi said.

"My father was executed publicly with a cannonball through his heart," she snapped. Kin looked down sadly and left the room, pulling Mei and Kyo with her. "My uncle was killed, and my mother, well her knees were broken, and she got to kneel in his blood. Her bones never set properly, and now she can't walk. My people have been killed and oppressed by the Hidden Leaf Village for as long as I can remember and too long before that. So I'm going to use you poor slobs as bargaining chips. Don't worry. No harm will come to you." She moved over to where he was tied up and kneel down in front of him. They'd tied him up so he was sitting, and it was easy that way to put her hand against his face. He turned away a little, almost embarrassed.

"What happened?" Sakura slurred, her head wagging back and forth. Risa gazed longingly into his eye, her face softening greatly.

"We could have made a go of it, you and me. If things were different. I think we would have turned into, well, a we," she said, caressing his masked face. Her thumb caught the edge of the dark blue cloth. "I wish I didn't feel this way. I wish…" She brought her face close to his, so close. Team seven watched with fascination, as she pulled his mask down slowly.

"Risa…" He muttered, looking at her lips. She pressed them against his. It was a sweet, chaste kiss. He leaned into it even if he wanted desperately to believe that this was a black-and-white, she's-the-bad-guy situation. She pulled back after a while and put her forehead against his.

"One last one, huh? Before I go," she breathed against his lips. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her again. He felt her fingers wind into his hair, and tears started to collect in her eyes. Risa nuzzled into his neck, her hair hiding his face from Naruto's desperate looks. She clutched him close in a shuddering hug. Her shoulders began to jump with sobs, as she lamented the loss of her Konoha life.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I warned the villagers the other day before I warned you, and we need about six hours to get everything moving—" Kyo listed off, but he stopped. He'd rounded the corner only to see Risa embracing Kakashi. Kin popped up behind him and wolf whistled. Risa looked back up at Kakashi and smiled, tears still shining in her eyes. She replaced his mask and moved away, wiping at her face.

"Okay, so what should we do to get the guards out of the city? What big, flashy statement are we gunna make?" She asked. Mei twirled around the corner.

"We could kill a hostage. I bet their bodies would make a hell of a statement," she sang. Risa chuckled as she pirouetted and pointed at Sakura. "I choose you!"

"You aren't going to touch her!" Naruto snarled.

"Relax, Naruto," his former teammate said. "We'll just have to rough a few of them up and tell them to go to their masters with a nice, kick-ass message, huh?"

"What's this 'we' stuff? Everyone knows you're the only one tough enough to take most of them on. I mean, we have chakra, but we don't have your kind of training," Mei reminded her.

"No problem. I can do it," Risa assured herself. She marched off, Mei and Kin following. Kyo sighed at sat across from the hostages.

"I was tasked with the babysitting," he mumbled. Sakura had been silent the whole time. Kakashi still felt her tears against his neck. Kyo closed his eyes for a quick nap.

"What was she like?" Sakura suddenly asked. Kyo opened one eye and looked at her. Nice hair. Excellent bust. "Or, I guess, what _is_ she like?" He closed his eyes again and settled himself more comfortable on the floor.

"We have a spring celebration here called the Day of May, or at least we used to. She was sixteen and the life of the town. It was the second year in a row she'd been crowned Miss May, and that isn't an empty title. Miss May gets chased around by all the eligible bachelors until one of them catches her, and he gets a kiss. Miss May is granted a horse and a five minute head start," he began.

_She used that five minute head start to careen out of town. Tsubaki, her horse, breathed in and out reassuringly slowly not matter how hard she pushed him. His hooves pounded over a bridge, signaling her entrance to the farmlands. She heard shouts behind her and knew they were coming. She smirked and came to a trot, turning around to stop. Her hands blurred into hand signs, and she waited until they_ _had surrounded her. It was a pack of them. Five guys who'd chosen to band together. They knew her strategy from the year before, and they also knew that she couldn't be taken without teamwork. A fireball burst forth from the trees. Kyo. The pack looked around, startled by the attack. Risa sucked up the chakra from the jutsu and sighed. _

_ "__You're going to have to try harder than that," she laughed and executed her jutsu. A winding tower of earth rose up out of the ground. Tsubaki raced up the spirals, up to the heavens and away from the boys. They balked. Such a jutsu was well beyond her years! A sky bridge extended the way she wanted to go, and she raced over it. Some boys climbed the tower, and some continued on foot far below the thin dirt bridge. The boys on foot were suddenly surprised by blocks of mud that shot up into the sky. Risa used these as stepping stones, hopping back down to the safety of the real ground. She couldn't keep the jutsu up for long. _

_Tsubaki double-timed it, sensing the mass amounts of men behind them. He ran in the shade of some trees, and a man jumped out of the trees. Risa ducked down low, hugging close to her horse, and the man flew over her with an irritated yell._

"She managed to lose us for four days before someone called it off, saying that now Miss May can actually win," he chuckled. "She was a character. She is. She loves people and gives anything for her family. She's about to give everything for her family… Is that enough for you? Good then. Let me sleep." He squirmed about again, trying to get comfortable on the hard floor.

**A/N**

**Oh, and the plot takes off! *Krrk* We have liftoff *Krrk***

**So what do you think? Do you think I'm getting a little OOC on this?**


	19. Chapter 19

As Kyo slept, women and children and elderly men poured into the building with packs upon packs of belongings and food and bedding. A couple of hours into the migration, someone came up to them and fed them. Naruto took his meal willingly, almost biting off the hand of the woman in his eagerness. Sakura ate humbly, trying to hide her hunger. Sai refused to take the charity, but Kakashi softly ordered him to eat. Their Sensei bowed his head in thanks and ate gratefully. The ladies disappeared back into the hustle and bustle. It seemed that the entire town was taking refuge in the single building. It didn't look built for anything more than storage. There were a few bags of grain and barrels of salted meat on the far end, but other than that, pallets and blankets covered the floor. Although there were so many people, sections had been made. Walkways through the sleeping arrangements made it easy to cross from one side to the other without fear of falling. No matter how crowded it got, there was always a ten foot radius around the four Leaf ninja of bare floor.

The grown-ups were busy, and Kakashi had noticed a group of small children staring at them. One girl with striking green eyes was arguing with a boy who had an abundance freckles. They were a little too far for Kakashi to read their lips, but they jumped and turned away when they realized he was staring intently at them. When the girl left the group, it seemed a decision had been made. He watched with amusement as she weaved her way through the commotion. She tried to look casual, but her eyes were darting every which way. She reached the edge of their little bubble and crossed into no-man's land. Everything slowed down. The girl sluggishly began making her way to Kakashi. Halfway to him, a shout came from the other side of the room, and she froze. Her green gaze looked over, and her body relaxed when she realized someone had dropped a cast-iron pot on someone else's foot. She darted towards him and touched his knee.

"It was a dare," she said and scurried back out of no-man's land. The copy-nin smirked and looked over at his team. He watched their troop get scolded harshly, and it stirred his heart, reminding him of his fallen teammates.

Night had fallen before Risa came back. She was breathing heavily, tears staining her face. Kyo stood.

"Who?" He asked, clenching his fists.

"It's done," she responded. "The wall is up. Let me sleep." He crossed the room quickly and took both her shoulders, staring her down.

"That isn't what I asked," he stressed. "Who?" She looked away, and Kakashi watched her face closely.

"Yuzu," she whispered. Kyo dropped to his knees as if the news had added thirty pounds to his shoulders. The room grew silent. A feminine sob from somewhere in the middle of the room punctured the silence.

"No," he said. "Not her. Anyone but her." Kyo bent over and put his hands on the cold concrete.

"Hiro hasn't been found yet. It looks like we didn't start quick enough. He must have come back… come back for her. That damn guard," Risa seethed. Her hands balled into fists, but those fists were shaking. "I'm gunna kill them, Kyo. I'm gunna kill them all for her. For Yuzu. And for everyone."

"You make them burn in hell," the peach-haired boy growled. Team seven looked away from their ex-teammate. Kakashi felt begrudging comradery for the woman who'd betrayed him. Her face gave away the massive amounts of pain she had inside. He knew that face well. Losing people was the worst part about killing for a living.

"Wake me in two hours, or if they get here before then, but I need to sleep," she commanded and swayed over to a pallet. "I just need some sleep," she muttered and was just that in a matter of seconds.

Kakashi watched the mourning sweep across the faces of the entire town. There was not a single person in the village that didn't grieve for this girl, and this was what caught Kakashi the most. There was not anyone who held a grudge against her or resented her or just didn't like her for some stupid reason. These people were so unified that they felt their sorrow almost as a unit. No. There was nothing about them that seemed like soldiers. They were one huge family. Lots of people began to follow her in suit, falling asleep. Someone turned off every other row of lights, darkening their ten foot radius. The copy nin and his three students watched as the girl snuck back to them. Her bright green eyes swept over Kakashi's body, her gaze stopping at his waist.

"Mei-Mei says that a big fight is coming," she said and rummaged around in his weapons pouch. She pulled out three kunai, a shuriken, and an experimental chakra pill that Tsunade had given him to test but he'd never gotten around to it. "I'm just going to borrow these."

"Don't eat the black thing. It's a chakra pill," he advised her. She looked back towards her posse, who was frantically waving at her to get the loot and dash. The woman who'd scolded them earlier was approaching their little group. They tried to play off their waving as jumping jacks of all things, but the woman looked towards the hostages anyways.

"Fudge," the girl snapped and darted behind Kakashi. He curled up his legs, making more room for her to hide. The woman looked back at the group of children, talking sternly to them before herding the group back to their beds. The boy with the freckles looked back at Kakashi. Eventually, the woman made them lay down and go to sleep.

"What's your name?" The copy nin asked, adjusting his position to be more comfortable. She bit her lip.

"Nori," she said finally and sprinted back to her people.

**A/N**

**So who's going to comment? Maybe favorite? Maybe? I dunno... God, I've really fallen in love with Risa. She is by far one of my favorite characters that I've made.**


	20. Chapter 20

Mei marched in to the compound and kicked Risa awake.

"They've sent an ambassador. He wants to talk to the person responsible for all this," she said as Risa groggily sat up.

"They've got shit for brains if they want to meet Risa," Kyo laughed. "But I guess we should oblige. Does that mean everyone is ready? Kin, you know your job?" The girl nodded and moved over to Kakashi. She pulled the pole he'd been roped to out of the ground and bid him to stand. His team protested vigorously, but Risa shushed them.

"One way or another, this is going to be over for you in a matter of minutes," she reassured them.

"If you lay a hand on him, but the gods I will find you and strike you down!" Sakura exclaimed, levelling her glare at her ex-teammate. Risa narrowed her eyes and gently put her hand on Kakashi's shoulder. She stuck out her tongue at the pink kiniochi.

"Get in line," Risa muttered and led the copy-nin out of the building. He had one last fleeting glance at the three tired Leaf ninja before he was out in the cool morning air. He looked around and balked.

"You can't hope to repel an attack from a feudal lord with just pitchforks and kitchen knives!" He gasped. Men barely older than Naruto and barely younger than Jiraiya patrolling the empty streets.

"They're the backup," Risa said simply and nodded at Mei and Kyo. They went over and lay down next to a line of about thirty other men and women.

"Who's the front line?" Kakashi asked.

"Me."

Kakashi's world spun. His first reaction was: no. Absolutely not. No way in hell was she fighting a war by herself. Kin shoved him along gently, snapping him out of his disbelief. He looked at his student's face, and it was set in stone. He knew that look, the look of a determined killer. He hated seeing it on her face. He hated the fact that he was bound and useless. But most of all he hated the fact that he couldn't hate her. Somewhere along the way, she wormed her way into his heart and was firmly enjoying an all access pass.

"You can't," he stressed. "You can't fight this war alone. Please. I can't just sit by and watch you die."

"Can't you just be a quiet little hostage?" She muttered and jerked her head, signaling Kin to move faster. "And who said I was fighting alone? You small-minded Leaf ninja couldn't possibly understand how it feels to be so connected to your people. They'll all be fighting with me. I'll have the strength far surpassing your puny Hokage." Kakashi couldn't fathom how she was going to accomplish this. Even if she absorbed the enemy's attacking chakra that would be small compensation. She marched ahead, leaving the two behind. Kin sighed.

"The land is valuable and will let her fight with everyone's chakra. She's not charging into this. They've been planning this for years, Kakashi. Have a little faith," she whispered and hurried along after Risa. Eventually, they reached a huge wall of earth. It must have been twenty feet high.

"Did she do this?" He asked. Kin nodded and smiled at her friend.

"It surrounds the whole village," she replied and hauled his body up to the top. Another pole was waiting for him, and he was roped to that too. He was thoroughly impressed. It was a fairly solid wall. He looked out on the supposed battlefield and what he saw chilled him to the bone. Nearly fifty men stood behind one. The one in front took a few steps, matching those of Risa. She stood before them, alone. Kakashi's hands clenched with the need to do something, even if it was just to stand by her side.

"Well, well, well. I asked for their leader and I get another squirt," he whined.

"I am their leader. I wish to bargain with you for these four ninja's lives. I've brought one as proof of life, but the rest will not be shown. Give us back our village, and we give back your ninja. Those are the terms. If you decline, these ninja will die, and you will have declared war on our village," she said, steely calm.

"I think…" He began, putting a finger to his forehead. "Not!"

"Then by the all the might of the people of Heiwa, prepare to be annihilated. If any of you have dreams and aspirations, anything you want to do after this day, I suggest you take your leave," she replied. Kakashi began to feel the mass of chakra surrounding her, and it got denser by the second.

"You and what army?" The man called, taking his sword out of its sheath. Her body started to glow, and her hair began to float as if gravity no longer had a hold of it. She looked back at Kakashi, her eyes emanating pure white light, and she smirked.

"Who says we need an army?" She said, her voice overlaid with high voices and low voices. Old voices and young ones. The man rushed forwards, bringing his sword down against her shoulder. Kakashi tried lurched forwards, as she didn't even move. The sword hit her flesh, and did nothing. She looked over at it, amused that he thought she could even be cut at all. Risa reached up and took his sword in her hand. It snapped like a twig.

"We are forever," she said and took the man's throat. His spine snapped like a twig as well.

"We cannot be cut," she said, as the next barrage of men came at her. She tore through their attacks and killed each one, their bodies becoming nothing but bones and blood before her. The very ground she walked on began to get dented. Rocks started to float around her, as if the very strength of her chakra defied the natural laws. She was right. Tsunade, the Third, Gaara. They had nowhere near this power. The closest thing to this amount had to be a tailed beast, but even that was questionable.

"We cannot be hit," she went on and crushed one of the swordsman's heads.

"Someone call for reinforcements!" One of them shouted.

"We cannot be overwhelmed!" She continued and sliced the man's throat who called for more ninja. She moved with preternatural speed. She'd already taken forty of them without any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Kakashi felt himself suddenly get tipped backwards. He was so lost in the battle, he hadn't even realized the Kin was steadily pulling him backwards. He fell off the wall and smack into the rocks.

"What was that for?" He griped. His hands were still bound; it wasn't like he could do anything about falling face first into the dirt!

"Risa gave me the order to release you in case they didn't take the offer. She was never going to kill any of you, if that's what you were worried about," Kin said and hopped down to untie him. Kakashi sat up and looked at his hands, free at last. "Please don't think about joining the fight. You'll only get in the way. There are thirty other people inside her right now that don't acknowledge you as a friend. They'll see the Leaf on your forehead and kill you with a single strike."

"I see," Kakashi muttered and got up. "I guess I better go free the others. I bet Naruto is wetting his pants at the prospect of not fighting. I'll have to break the news lightly." He started for the main building, leaving Kin behind in the dust. He made his way quickly, intent on getting to them and getting out as quickly as possible. He passed the thirty sleeping people and stopped. Kakashi lifted his headband and activated his sharingan. Their chakra flowed freely into the ground, going straight for Risa's massive chakra stockpile. He looked at it for a moment, and he began to distinguish the different chakras. So that was it. They were all lending their chakra to her. No… they were giving her their very essence. If she were to die, they would all become vegetables. Living but brain dead. He continued on into the building.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed and struggled against the bonds. "Why aren't you tied up anymore?"

"We're all free to go!" He answered and sliced through each of their bonds.

"But why-?" Sakura began.

"We have served our purpose," Sai answered, rubbing his wrists. "But Kakashi-senpai, do you really intend on leaving? If there's anything I've learned from you it's that we should help and protect those whom we hold dear. I can only one day dream of having someone so dear to me as Risa is now to you." Their Sensei put his hands in his pockets.

"Tch," he complained. "I actually was planning on leaving." Sakura stopped short at his answer.

"But Sensei?!" She cried.

"I thought you were ready to strike her down?" Kakashi asked, turning a lazy eye on his pink haired subordinate.

"That was before she let us go! It's obvious she never… Never ever meant to hurt us!" She exclaimed. As always, she was close to tears.

"You really looked up to her, huh?" Kakashi asked. Sakura turned as pink as her namesake and looked away. "Don't worry. I was going to retrieve the Hokage. I have a sneaky suspicion that the news of our capture never reached all the way to the Leaf. Risa can take care of herself until then." Her jaw dropped, and she rubbed the back of her head.

"O-oh. If that was your plan all along…" A noise from outside stopped her sentence in its tracks. Shouting. Kakashi's head whipped around, and he darted outside.

"Janto, no! You'll pay for that!" A little boy yelled, one of Kakashi's kunai in his sweaty palm. There were four of them from the little troop that were running around earlier. Kakashi recognized the girl, Nori, as the one who'd taken his weapons. Three swordsman had penetrated the village's defenses, and the children were defending the line of warriors laying in the dirt. One had just tossed away one of their small comrades, and Nori put a hand out to stop the other boy. Another trembling girl clutched something desperately to her chest, and the rest had made a protective stance around her.

"I've still got one thing up my sleeve you old dirtbag!" She yelled and pulled out the chakra pill. Kakashi dashed forward. They were too far away, and she'd swallowed it by the time he got there. One of the swordsmen swung his sword down, and Nori's gaze got far away. Kakashi barely jumped between them in time to deflect the blow, having to use the plates on his gloves because those little brats had taken all of his kunai.

"Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. He glanced over and saw more swordsmen rounding the corner. Naruto and Sai engaged them. He looked back at the trembling girl and saw that it was a baby she held so tightly.

"Run to that woman," he ordered her. "Sakura!" The pinkette nodded and ran towards the girl. Nori began laughing, hauntingly.

"Kill," was the only thing she said before burst into white flames. Her steps fractured the ground below her, and she punched straight at Kakashi's back. "Heiwa Hidden Jutsu! Fire-fist of the Spirit!" Her tiny hand touched Kakashi's back, and he felt a raging presence enter his body. It passed straight through him, as he was not the intended target. From his chest emerged a flaming white fist, and it impacted the swordsman. From a logical standpoint, it was a fantastic jutsu. On a crowded battlefield, it would target only enemies. No friendly fire.

"What the hell?" The man gasped, and he began screaming as he combusted. White flames licked their way over his body, and he was dead in mere seconds. Kakashi jumped out of the way and looked at the girl. Chakra was overflowing from her small body. If it increased any more, her flesh would start to disintegrate. Chakra pill failed. Her tiny hands flexed and flashed into signs.

"Heiwa Hidden Jutsu! Firestorm for the Pure!" She shouted and twisted around. From her fingertips, a pale inferno raged and consumed the other two.

"Nori!" He exclaimed, and she turned on him. Snowy fire licked its way up her arms and shoulders, curling off her willowy form in waves. "Calm down! Your body can't take much more of this!"

"This is the thing you don't understand about us in Heiwa! We've got jutsu you couldn't even dream of, but we all have to work together to put them forth. But I'm strong now. I can kill them all now without anyone's help!" She yelled. Her hair flew out into a fan around her face, as another large discharge of chakra forced its way out of her. Her body was trying to protect itself, to get rid of the massive intrusion, but there was too much of it. Her hair began to disappear, starting with the ends. He scooped her up and raced back to their base.

"Kin, come here!" He called, almost knocking down the girl in his haste. "We need to hook her up to whatever you've got going to Risa. She consumed a chakra pill and is going to die if she doesn't get this chakra out of her." Kin jumped into action immediately and wrestled Nori to the ground.

"Sleep!" Kin insisted, shoving a clump of dirt into the girl's face. "Risa…" She muttered and closed her eyes, trying to find that elusive strand of Risa's mind. Kin reached out with her spirit towards that mass of minds. "Take her!"

Risa stopped, about to step through a man's chest. She looked back towards the village. _That Nori… Always trying to outdo Janto. Come here, child. Your village needs you._

Nori stopped struggling and rested softly in the embrace of the earth. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and went to help his team. Kin followed and almost collapsed when she saw Sakura.

"Oh my god, Hiro. You found Hiro. Oh Mary mother of god," she muttered and collapsed in front of the pink kinoichi. "I can't believe he's alive. We all thought… When we found Yuzu… Thank you. Thank you to the ends of the earth." She took the little boy from Sakura's arms and rushed back into the building, herding the rest of the little team back inside with a few choice words.

"Sensei, I'm going to stay here and try to help, if I can," Sakura said, sounding far away.

"Mmm, Kakashi-senpai. That seems like the thing to do," Sai agreed.

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, fist raised. "We'll stay here and clean out the village while you go and get Grandma Tsunade! Believe it!" Kakashi looked at Sai and nodded, jumping off.

Risa felt Kakashi leave, and the pain rippled through her, multiplied a thousand fold by the now thirty one minds feeling it and reflecting back on her. He's just a tool, she reminded herself. A way for her to get what she needed. That's all he ever was and all he ever will be. Her unrelenting hand came down on her next victim, and his blood arched into the air. One word echoed in her mind. _Kill. Kill._ It'll make you feel better, someone whispered. We'll kill them all and get out village back. _Kill._ We don't need him. _Kill._ He couldn't return your love you anyways. _Kill._ He could never love a weapon because that's what you are. Heiwa's greatest weapon, and that weapon was meant to _kill_. It wasn't until she obliterated the next ninja that she realized the other villagers in her head were eerily silent and had been for quite a long time.

"Die!" She screamed and whirled around. "Firestorm for the Pure!"

Kakashi rushed through the calm leaves. His only intent was to get to Konoha as soon as possible, to stop this massacre. His mind flashed back to the conversation they'd had before they had found Kin.

_"__Yes," he answered curtly. "What do you do?"_

_ "__Cry mostly," she said. _

If that was how she dealt with killing, the dirt was going to turn to mud before she was done.

**A/N**

***quietly sobs in the distance***


	21. Chapter 21

"I have an urgent need to see the Hokage," Kakashi insisted, propriety preventing him from bursting into her office. Shizune, flustered at his sudden entrance, gestured towards Tsunade's door. He entered the room with an air of urgency, and yet the Hokage didn't pick up on it.

"How was your spa trip, Kakashi? That cute little intern of yours said you all were going to an onsen somewhere up north," she asked, picking up another one of her papers.

"We have a lot to discuss, Lady Hokage," the copy-nin said quickly, breathing harder than usual. "We don't have the time to do it here. Please follow me. My team is in danger." She scrutinized him, seeing his jumpiness. Kakashi was hardly a person that could be called jumpy. She got up, and he darted out the window. It was no trouble following him, and he led her out of the village.

"What's this about? I can't be leaving the village for every little thing. You're supposed to be this genius, Kakashi. Can't you deal with it on your own?" Tsunade whined.

"It isn't your prowess I need," he said. "It's your influence. I have a… dispute of sorts between a Leaf claimed village and the local lord. Risa was acting as a spy for the claimed village and infiltrated the Leaf. She's actually twenty-six and possesses skills enough to rival me. She's now engaged in an all-out war with the feudal lord and winning, I fear. I need you to stop it."

"Risa? A spy? Twenty six? Kakashi, what have you been doing?" She chided.

"Apparently nothing," he muttered and hopped over to another tree. They were going fast. Kakashi didn't want to waste a second, and it was a good thing too. Risa was beginning to tire. She'd tossed around jutsus for a few hours, utterly decimating the lord's army, but more kept coming. The bodies were stacking up, and she was starting to get annoyed at the constant slipperiness. She felt more coming, two from the trees. The two stopped, probably surveying the battlefield. She smirked and got a sneaky idea in her head. Kyo's jutsu flashed into her mind, a tornado. She spun quickly, faster and faster. Gathering her chakra into a spiral motion and forming hand signs like lightning, Risa almost leapt for joy when she felt the soldiers start to get swept up in the storm. She actually laughed when the bodies began to fly about. All the corpses made a gruesome cyclone.

"Heiwa Hidden Art," she said and tossed the twister at the two trying to be sneaky in the trees. "Blood Tornado!" Tsunade and Kakashi ducked behind the tree trunks, taking quick cover.

"Did she just attack us?" Tsunade screeched. Kakashi peeked out around the trunk and saw her, standing in the middle of a blood-drenched field. The bodies that expelled the blood were splattered all over the trees that now sheltered the Konoha ninja. One man without his left arm was impaled on a branch not twenty feet from the copy-nin. Another swordsman with a kunai through his eye was stuck to the trunk of a tree by his own rusty blood and the force of the tornado.

"Who's up there?" Risa called. "We don't like surprises. We especially don't like sneaky little ninja running around in our trees." She suddenly appeared behind the white-haired ninja, a kunai raised. Her white eyes narrowed, and her brow furrowed. "Kakashi?" He turned around and brought a kunai forwards to protect himself.

"Yes, Risa. It's me. I've brought the Hokage. She's going to sort a few things out for you, so you can stop fighting," he said slowly.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Tsunade advised. Her trained medical eye swept over Risa's body—especially those glowing white eyes. "This is some kind of combination jutsu isn't it? To let her use everyone else's chakra."

"No!" She screamed. "I am everyone! _We_ are everything!" Risa charged at the Godaime and almost got a hit in, but Kakashi flashed in front of her, blocking the attack kunai against kunai.

"Calm down!" He commanded.

"Your first priority is to _her?_ To that scum?" She asked.

"I am a Konoha shinobi!" He declared, gripping the knife tighter. "I will do anything to protect my people and my Hokage! There was one time when I would have said the same to you." A bead of blood from far up into the trees dropped onto her cheek.

"I _am_ doing everything for my people. Our people are different. And now if we kill every last one of those pathetic losers… No one will mess with us anymore," Risa seethed, her eyes darting to Tsunade. Kakashi wanted to reach out to touch her face, to try and connect with her just one last time.

"I'm sorry, Risa. I'm your teacher and I… I've failed you," he lamented. She saw the pain in his eye, and it only succeeded in enraging her further.

"You aren't my teacher anymore!" She yelled and smirked, dropping her voice a few decibels. "That gig was up the second my dress hit the floor." Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, but she didn't comment.

"If we pulled her out of this state, I'm fairly sure she'll die. That much chakra running through her body… Change that and her organs will all fail. I'm guessing the jutsu covers the initial danger of dissolving with too much chakra, but she's going to die once she calms down," the Hokage explained. Risa looked down.

"We know," she whispered. "We're… I'm ready. I just have to wipe them out. I can't have these bastards killing my people. They can handle the rest… We just have to get them out of the way. Permanently." She vaulted backwards and landed on the side of a bloody tree.

"I don't know you. I don't know your people. What I know is that I have ninja committed to this battle, so it's going to end as soon as possible. Shizune!" She called. An anxious Shizune appeared in front of the Hokage, bowing.

"Yes, Mistress!" She said.

"Bring me the local lord. Threaten him with anything you want, just get him here," Tsunade said nonchalantly. Her trusty henchwoman flashed away. "Risa, we need to prepare you for the eventuality that you might—" The twenty-six year old's head snapped towards the town and disappeared.

"Risa!"

She stood over the idiot, the sword embedded in her hip. Naruto cracked an eye. The little boy cowering behind the blonde darted off.

"You dumbass," she breathed. The swordsman almost tried to pull the sword back, but a kunai sprouted from his throat. Kakashi threw the body away and dropped to one knee to look at her wound. "It shouldn't have cut. We can't be cut." Tsunade clacked over to the sword and looked at it.

"Look at the tag on the hilt," she muttered, toeing the weapon. Naruto stood up.

"I tried to shield the boy, but she was suddenly there…" He mumbled.

"This little scratch can hardly hurt me now, but I can't hold on to everyone," she said, far away. Risa yanked out the sword and tossed it to the ground. Kakashi looked over towards the line of people and saw them slowly waking up.

"Lay her down!" Tsunade ordered, and the copy-nin swept her feet from under her.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, confused at what was happening.

"Risa! Stay with me," her teacher insisted. The Hokage put her fingers to her forehead.

"No use. Her cerebral nerves are getting fried," Tsunade said. "Let me try something… You have to keep her awake. Can you do that? Kakashi!" His eyes snapped up to her gaze, and he nodded, turning back to Risa.

"Hey, Risa! Do you remember that stupid little closet we were in?" He asked and shook her. A smile blossomed across her face, but her eyes fluttered dangerously close to closed.

"You are a dumb one, aren't you? I can't believe you fell for that innocent act," she chuckled, and her chest jerked up. "That was hilarious. It's too bad I can't take you for another spin. I wouldn't mind—" She coughed something awful. "Wouldn't mind hitting you up for another go-round. Or three."

"I'm stupid, aren't I?" He agreed, brushing back her bloody hair. "Like when I said you needed acting classes, and you lied to me. You lied to me Risa, but they weren't all lies were they?" The white light in her eyes was fading. _Thank you, Kyo. Mei. You fought you hard for me. It's time for you to go now._

"We'll never know, will we? I think I could have, though," she whispered, her voice getting softer and softer. "My father's waiting for me."

"No!" Kyo screamed, bolting up. He scrambled over to Risa's unmoving body. Her eyes were half-lidded, a shaky smirk still on her lips. Mei crawled over, tears staining her face. Kin rushed out of the main building.

"You aren't supposed to be moving yet!" She insisted, but she saw Risa, motionless, in Kakashi's arms with the Hokage crouching over her. "W-What's happening?" Tsunade shook her head and stood.

"Is there nothing more you can do?" Kakashi asked, his hands balling into fists.

"Oy, Shizune! You're getting slow!" She called into the distance, and the woman appeared, scared lord in tow. Shizune was breathing heavily.

"O-Of course, Tsunade-sama!" She exclaimed.

"Take care of this one," the Godaime said and gestured towards Risa. "She's dying, so I'll trade you." The powerful blonde took the simpering daimyo by the collar and dragged him into a nearby empty house. "Kakashi," she called, throwing a glance over her shoulder. "Your Hokage requests your presence, as well as the next leading power in this village."

"Hokage-sama—" Kakashi started, but she glared at him.

"I won't repeat myself," she said and stepped into the house. The copy-nin stood and cast one last glance towards Risa.

"You take care of her," he ordered. To Shizune, to Naruto, or to Kin, he didn't know. To all of them. Kyo limped over towards the house.

"I'm the leader in Risa's stead," he announced, stepping into one of the houses that belonged to one of Mei's cousins. Kyo observed how Kakashi wouldn't look directly at him. "And I fight on behalf of the oppressed people of Heiwa and everyone who… died in the process."

**A/N**

**Look at Kyo, takin responsibility!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N**

**I left you on a cliff hanger didn't I? I'm horrid.**

The negotiations lasted well on into the next day, and it was almost noon before a pale, shaking Kyo emerged from the house. The after effects of the jutsu were taking their toll, but everyone was reacting differently. Mei was running a hundred and three fever. Asami had been hovering over the toilet for the past four hours. Kyo felt like the life had been drained out of him, but he was surprisingly fantastic at negotiating. Years of arguing with women had sharpened his skills, and he was one step ahead of the lord the entire way. The Hokage served mostly as a mediator, but she was frequently astonished by the atrocities committed in Heiwa.

"How'd the deal come?" Kin asked, supporting her friend to the Main Building. All the townspeople had cleared out—the siege had been called off. It was turned into the med bay, Sakura and Shizune darting back and forth between so many people.

"We've got an exclusivity contract with Konoha and its allies which was, let's face it, unavoidable, for all our product. As for that lord, I've got it to where he goes to a maximum security prison for the rest of his life if Risa lives. If she dies, we pursue the death penalty. We're also getting reimbursed for the 'cost of human life'. That means we receive money for every person that died due to his reign," Kyo declared triumphantly. "It took me a while to sell the Hokage on the death penalty, but when Kakashi suggested the clause on Risa's life, she couldn't refuse." Kin didn't smile. She was happy that their village—yes, it would be her village now—was getting such a good deal, but she couldn't be happy when Risa's life hung by a thread.

"You all developed that jutsu, didn't you? Isn't there something you could tell them that could help? Didn't you think of this?" She questioned. Kyo put a hand tiredly against his head.

"We tried every option. The spear was going for destruction, and we couldn't wait any longer. We've all been ready to lose everything for the moment we started this crusade," he said softly. Kin nodded slowly.

"How is she doing?" Kakashi asked Shizune. The woman looked pitifully at the Leaf's prized jonin and shook her head. "Dead?" No. Please. Not another one.

"She might as well be," the medic answered. "I don't think she'll ever wake up from this coma she's in." Kakashi closed his eyes and let his head fall. To be a shinobi, under no circumstances must you show any emotion.

"I understand," he said and walked out. He passed a gloomy looking Naruto, and a more stoic looking than usual Sai. Sakura was keeping busy. He stopped just as he was about to walk out. This must be hard for them. It's their first teammate to die. At least it's Naruto and Sakura's first teammate to die.

"Neh, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto began. "Were you in love with Risa?"

"Let him be," Sai muttered. Kakashi opened the door and jumped away. He needed to leave this place.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei going?" Sakura asked. Sai rolled his eyes.

"Out," he answered and drew up one knee to his chest. Risa taught him how to dance…

Sakura thought back to all the things Risa did for her. She got the pinkette to wear a ridiculously flattering dress! Risa gave her someone to look up to. Someone to hope to be more like. She was a role model, and even more so now. To do all this in defense of her people… It astounded Sakura how far she still had to go on her way to becoming a true ninja.

"She hadn't really been a part of our team for long, huh?" Naruto asked, derailing Sakura's train of thought.

"Not really, when you think about it," Sakura answered. Sai looked up at the ceiling.

"It was long enough," he said and sighed, looking back down. "Will you two just shut up for a while?" They each lapsed into their own brooding silence. Tsunade kicked in the door and sniffed the air.

"It's rather gloomy in here," she noted. "Get up. We're moving her back to Konoha where she can get the proper care, and where this one can get the proper imprisoning." She nudged a terrified lord with her foot.

"Yes, ma'am!" Shizune said and formed quick hand signs. Risa's cot began floating, and it followed the medic around. "Are you guys coming?" Naruto, Sakura, and Sai hopped up straight away. Mei, Kin and Kyo, however, looked towards the Leaf ninja.

"We'll be along as soon as we can, but we've got a few things to take care of here," Kyo said. Kin pursed her lips and glared at her peach-haired compadre.

"Also, none of us can make the trip in our current condition," she continued. "Kyo and Mei are still weak from the fight, and I'm not a ninja." Tsunade looked at the girl, sizing her up.

"Not a ninja, huh?" The Hokage smirked. "All right. I'll send a few ANBU to come and get you."

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Two extra Naruto's appeared. "I can carry all three of you!"

"Just hurry up!" Tsunade called, already out the door.

They decided to give it a week. A week for her to wake up on her own, and then they were going to pull the plug.


	23. Chapter 23

Kakashi didn't mean to drink that night—really he didn't. Somehow he ended up in a bar anyways. He looked back at the windows to the street, one of them still boarded up from when he'd been training Risa. A sudden tightness in his throat was quickly washed down with a burning gulp of the house special. It tasted like swill, but it was said to be the fastest way to get hammered. The peach-haired villager sat next to him, almost mirroring Kakashi. Drink in hand; somber air about him. The drink loosened Kyo's tongue, and the man—not really that much younger than Kakashi—turned to the copy-nin.

"What will you do if… you know," Kyo asked. Oh yes. He knew. If she died?

"She isn't the first," Kakashi answered coolly, his brain almost detached from his mouth.

"And?" The rebel said bitterly. He knew quite a bit about loss. "That doesn't make her any less important." Kakashi was almost taken aback by this statement, and another wave of well-concealed pain washed over him. He barely managed to stay afloat, feeling the house special instantly numb his brain as he took another swig.

"I supposed it doesn't." The copy-nin sat his drink down and picked it back up, uncharacteristically finicky.

"What are you going to do if she lives?" Kyo continued. Again, Kakashi was taken aback. The thought had scarcely crossed his mind that this unforgiving world—the world that took his father, teammates, sensei, and countless others—could give him a break, just this once. He'd not thought to even hope.

"I honestly don't know," he admitted.

"Well, aren't you supposed to be in love with her or something?" Kyo watched Kakashi carefully, disappointed when all he got back was a muttered 'or something'. He shook his head. "I really don't know what she sees in you. I mean, she _loves _you."

"She does? Was it the lying, kidnapping, or dying that gave her away?" The ninja said, the liquor making it harsher than he'd meant. Kyo rolled his eyes and tossed what he owed onto the smooth counter.

"First off, she's not dead. Secondly, I think you're forgetting that I was inside her head. Do you know how much it hurt her to feel you leave like you did in the middle of the battle? And to have to go up against you… Each second that passed when you were in between her and the Hokage was like being pushed onto broken glass. Over and over." He began to walk off, leaving a rather stunned Kakashi, when he turned and called back, "And you know what?"

"Hn?" The copy-nin asked, the noise almost involuntary.

"She _never_ looked at me like that."

**A/N**

**Poor Kyo. You know what would make him feel better? Comments. No wait. That's me. Also favorites if that's your thing.**


	24. Chapter 24

Sakura didn't cling to Naruto, necessarily, but she wouldn't let him leave her side. She wouldn't let Sai go either, but neither boy actually wanted to leave. They didn't want to be alone, not then. The three teammates sat on a hill just outside of town. Someone was playing a sweet little tune in the tea shop just down the hill, and it reminded Sakura of Risa. She pulled Naruto up and pulled him close.

"Dance with me," she demanded, as the soothing flute music played with the wind. Sai watched them twirl in silence. Sakura put her face into Naruto's shoulder, clutching his stupid orange jacket. She cried, but no one saw.

"I don't want to feel this way," Sai said, leaning back against a tree. A sharp pain gripped his chest, and he couldn't stop it.

"It's not going to stop," Naruto replied, a far off look in his eyes. His tanned hand rubbed Sakura's back, as she sobbed quietly into his shoulder. "It's going to happen whenever you think of her, but it gets easier after a while." An autumn breeze blew up the hill, scattering Sakura's vibrant hair.

"The week isn't up yet!" The woman exclaimed, revealing her red eyes, her wet cheeks. "She still has a few days to wake up. Risa is strong. Don't talk anymore. Just dance with me, Naruto. Like we did when she was here." So they didn't talk anymore.


	25. Chapter 25

Well, that week came and went. Everyone had gathered for the 'ceremony', as it were. Kakashi lounged in the window, his team sitting just below. The three from Heiwa plus Risa's mother sat on the opposite side of the bed. Tsunade, head hung, stood at the end of the bed.

_What's going on? _Risa asked. _Everyone is so somber. I'm all right see? I told you not to worry! Turns out, I only needed a little rest to flush out all that chakra from my system! Isn't that great? Guys?_

"Do you want to say something?" Tsunade asked, looking at her mother. Asami glanced at her daughter, peacefully sleeping in the white hospital bed.

"This war took everything from me. My brother. My husband. My legs. Now it's taken my daughter too. No, Hokage. I have nothing to say," she mourned. Asami took a small vial of Heiwa soil and set it on the bedpost. It was fitting for Risa to take her last breath with her people behind her. Kin's heart clenched.

"Well I have something to say!" She exclaimed. Her hold around Mei's hand grew tighter, and her eyes narrowed. "Risa was my first friend besides my father. And now she's dead. She's dead because of greed and power and strong people preying on the weak without anyone who'd stand up for them. She became that person and paid the price. That's not… That's not okay!" Fat tears began dropping from Naruto's eyes, and Sakura started sniffling a little. When she looked back up, Kakashi had left.

_I'm not dead you little fuckers! Look at me! Listen to me! _Risa screamed.

Kakashil gazed at the memorial that would never have her name on it. The bright sunny day was in complete contrast to his misty eyes. A small gleam caught his stare, and he almost choked. There, resting against the memorial, was a small rock with her name shakily carved into it. So she would be honored after all... Kakashi felt his eyes begin to fill. He closed them, tilting his head towards the sun. Because if no tears fell, it meant he wasn't crying. It must have been one of his team that made the rock. Obito. Rin. Now Risa. And there were so many more. So many that died because of him.

_I'm not dead!_

The vial of dirt wobbled and tipped over, smashing to the floor.

"Did you feel that?" Kyo asked, looking at Mei. The girl nodded. They both took a bit of the soil from the floor and coated their hands with it.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade asked.

"She's not brain dead. How could we ever doubt the great Risa, huh?" Mei said. Tsunade sighed and put a hand to her head.

"Don't do this to yourselves. It's over," the Hokage said lowly. "You're only making it worse." They both put their hands against Risa's head, and Kyo laughed.

"Oh you little bitch. You've been here for a while, haven't you?" He chuckled.

_Oh god yes! Get me out of here! _Risa exclaimed.

"Give us a second, you greedy whore," Mei muttered.

_Are you angry with me? _Risa asked tentatively.

"Of course we're angry!" Both of them shouted.

"Well I'm sorry!" Risa shouted back. Tsunade's eyes widened, and Naruto's jaw dropped. Risa looked at her moving hands, her moving feet. "Haha! I knew I couldn't die! You all were doubters!" Kin, in a moment of overwhelming emotion, spun Mei around and kissed her deeply.

"She's alive!" The sleeping beauty exclaimed and hugged Mei tightly. It was Risa's turn for jaw-dropping.

"Wait, you're together?" She asked, pointing at the two women. "Together together?"

"I-um," Kin stuttered. "We were going to tell you if you… When you woke up."

"And how long has this been going on?" Risa enquired, folding her arms. The two looked around, anywhere but Risa.

"Kinda since you introduced us…" Mei answered, biting her lip.

"What?!" Naruto yelled, jumping up. "You're lesbians?"

"Hey, what am I?" Risa yelled back. "Chopped liver? I just came back from the dead!" Several different people suddenly smothered her.

"Of course not!" Sakura exclaimed.

"All right, people. Give her some space. She shouldn't be moving around like that anyways," Tsunade chided, breaking up the dog pile.

"Oh, I'm fine, Hokage. I've had a week to heal. It was just my consciousness that was suppressed. I didn't take into account the fact that I had to make room for everyone, but I never released it. I just needed a little jump-start, eh?" Risa smiled, jumping out of bed. She looked around at the smiling faces of her friends and family. Except Kakashi. That one hurt. Mei noticed the disappointment on her face.

"Kakashi! We have to find him and tell him!" She cried. Risa wiped the gloom off her face, setting up annoyance instead.

"What's with that, anyways? He wasn't even going to be here when I died? Tch," the dead-woman walking muttered, pursing her lips. That one really hurt.

Sakura flashed in front of him, barely catching Kakashi by surprise. She was panting lightly, having already looked many other places for him.

"Is it done?" He asked, not looking at his pink subordinate.

"Hardly, Kakashi-sensei," she breathed, smiling. "Risa woke up."


	26. Chapter 26

He didn't waste any time in hopping to the hospital, only to find her not there. Asami pointed him in the direction of the Mountainside images, where he found Naruto. He in turn said the Risa was just here but said she was going to Kakashi's apartment. The copy-nin found Sai there who told him that the dead girl walking decided to look for him at the book store. It seemed everyone decided to follow him, and he'd collected his entire team before finding the Hokage at the bookstore.

"Let me guess, she's not here?" He asked. Tsunade shook her head.

"She said she thought you might be at the training fields." Kakashi cursed and hopped off towards the training fields, hoping to whatever god was listening that she was there.

"GODDAMMIT!" Risa screamed, looking at the empty training fields. _I am never gunna get laid!_ She thought angrily and sat tiredly against one of the three vertical logs. Just my luck…

"Risa!" Kakashi called and swept her up in his arms. "I thought I'd never fucking find you!" She pushed his mask down and kissed him for all she was worth. His back was to his students, so Naruto's desperate glances got nothing of his true face. Tsunade wolf whistled at them.

"Uh, Sensei?" Sakura muttered when they didn't stop.

"All right, I think we should leave them alone," The Hokage stated.

"Wait, what are they going to do? It's the training fields. In the middle of the day!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We need to have a talk," Tsunade decided and put her arm around Naruto, guiding the three ninja out of the fields.

"Do you think we should we should move?" Risa asked between kisses. Kakashi nearly glared at her, but he shook his head.

"No," he growled and smothered her moan with his lips.

"Oh god, I'm so glad you said that," she breathed and wrapped her arms around him.


	27. Chapter 27

Epilogue.

"Really, Kakashi," Risa said, flexing out her hand. "This ring you gave me is certainly spectacular." It was an onyx band—durable as hell—with diamond ridges on the top. The diamonds stuck up with a nasty ninety degree angle point. Perfect for hitting people in the face and taking their face with her.

"Now, how long have you been engaged?" Mei drawled. "Oh? Three years?"

"Maybe I like being a fiancée," the woman answered. Kin rolled her eyes, and Risa looked at her intended. She settled herself in his lap and put her arms around his neck.

"Neh, we probably should get married sometime before one of us dies," Kakashi pondered, scratching his cheek. Risa put her head on his chest.

"Yeah, probably," she replied. She pushed him over and pinned him to the ground, smirking. "Or we could have lots and lots of sex." He smirked right back.

"I'm okay with that," he said. Both Mei and Kin rolled their eyes.

"You can still do that once you're hitched. We're living proof," Mei pointed out.

"How did two commitment-phobes like you get together? Ever?" Kin asked, exasperated at her friend's antics. They took their shinobi friends on this picnic in order to convince them to nail down a date on their wedding, but they were being as pig-headed as ever.

"I like Kakashi's face, and he likes my butt," Risa answered simply.

"The only things needed for a real relationship, I guess," Mei said sarcastically.

"It's true love," Kakashi admitted. He stared up at the clouds for a while, Risa listening to his heart. "Although maybe we should…" Risa looked up at him and blinked.

"Do you really want to? I mean we have waited a long time," she asked, uncertainty coloring her voice. "I kind of got the feeling that maybe you thought this was enough." He sat back up, his brow furrowing.

"Of course I want to marry you," he said softly and put a hand to her cheek. She smiled mischievously.

"You know, I bet we get time off for a honeymoon," she hinted.

"Now, I wouldn't mind a vacation," he supposed.

"Well! I guess we should start planning!" Mei said, clapping her hands together. Risa looked down and smiled.

"I guess we should," she said and kissed her fiancée.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N**

**One last note before we say goodbye! Wasn't that fun? I like Risa. Maybe that's just me. I don't know if I'm up for a sequel, but if enough people want one, I'd consider doing one. Plus, I'm always open for prompts! **

**Risa: You made the end all mushy!**

**Mei: And you made me a lesbian!**

**Kin: What's that supposed to mean, Mei?**

**Mei: Nothing... **

**Kakashi: *awkward sweat drop* **

**MWAHAHAHA My endings shall be as mushy as I want goddammit! **

**Comment, fav, and all that jazz!**


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